Former Family and Protective Services employee given 50 years for abusing adopted children

MISSOURI CITY, Texas - A former employee of the Department of Family and Protective Services was given a 50-year prison sentence for abusing adopted children.

According to the Fort Bend County District Attorney's Office, Eric Norman Stewart, 66, set up a group home in Missouri City, where he lived, and fostered and adopted several children. 

Evidence presented to a grand jury showed in 2016, Stewart sexually abused both a 9-year-old and a 12-year-old girl in his home for more than two years.

The jury handed down the sentence on March 9 where he was given 50 years in prison for Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Young Child

"All children deserve to feel safe in their homes. This defendant betrayed his role as both a father and as an employee within Children’s Protective Services, an agency designed to keep kids safe," Lead prosecutor Alycia Curtis said in a statement. "I’m grateful for this jury’s hard work and their verdict. As a voice for our community, the jury made it clear that there are severe consequences for those who abuse our most vulnerable."

"They say it takes a village to raise a child, but no one is more important than a parent or guardian," District Attorney Brian Middleton added. "And when that person betrays their child, the village will rise up to protect the child and punish the abuser. I am proud of my prosecutors; of law enforcement; and most importantly, these children; to hold the defendant accountable."