A Midlothian man is headed to prison after impregnating his girlfriend's 12-year-old daughter and trying to arrange an abortion.
Prosecutors in Ellis County released a statement Tuesday saying 37-year-old Paul Jon Flanigan was headed to prison for 50 years without the possibility of parole after being found guilty of continuous sexual abuse of a child.
Flanigan, prosecutors said, entered a guilty plea Dec. 13 after being accused of sexually abusing his girlfriend's daughter multiple times in Ellis and Dallas counties, since she was 11 years old.
In November 2018, Flanigan took the then 12-year-old girl to Planned Parenthood to get an abortion, prosecutors said. Planned Parenthood notified law enforcement and an investigation was opened.
"The child was forensically interviewed and she disclosed that Flanigan had sex with her. The molestation began when she was 11 years old and continued up until Flanigan found out she was pregnant," prosecutors said.
The child gave birth in February 2019. DNA samples obtained from the baby confirmed Flanigan was the father.
"Paul Flanigan stole the innocence of a child," said Assistant County and District Attorney Habon Mohamed, who prosecuted the case. "Flanigan will serve a just punishment for his perverse actions."
