A Rusk County jury on Friday, April 25, 2025, convicted 62-year-old David Roy Mundt of Longview on two counts of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child for a crime committed in 1992. The victim, a seven-year-old child, was taken from her bed and sexually assaulted in her backyard.
DNA evidence, specifically spermatozoa isolated from a 1992 rape kit and analyzed by the DPS Laboratory in Garland, provided a crucial link to Mundt. The jury subsequently sentenced Mundt to two consecutive life sentences in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, as ordered by Judge Parrish, who presided over the case by assignment of the 4th Judicial District Court.
During the trial, the jury also heard evidence from a 1986 case in Phoenix, Arizona, where a three-year-old was taken from her crib and sexually assaulted. DNA from the Arizona victim's clothing also matched Mundt. Additionally, testimony was presented from a third victim within the defendant's family.
The State was represented by Rusk County DA Micheal E. Jimerson, Chief Prosecutor Alan Ross, and ADA Tiffany Conner.
DA Jimerson acknowledged the significant contributions of numerous agencies, entities, lab workers, investigators, patrol officers, and counselors to this interstate investigation. He specifically thanked the Rusk County jurors, the citizens of Rusk County, the courageous victims, the Henderson Police Department (including former Detective Dolly Pirtle and former Chief James Pierson), current DA investigator Craig Sweeney, forensic DNA scientists from the Texas DPS Laboratory in Garland and the City of Phoenix Police Laboratory, Cold Case Investigator Javier Quezada from the Phoenix Police Department, the Texas Ranger Service, Gregg County Sheriff Maxie Cerliano and his staff, Rusk County Sheriff Johnwayne Valdez and his staff, Rusk County Veterans and their Officer Leo Gonzales, Victim's Coordinator Bruce Bailey, and counselors from the Rusk-Panola CAC.
"This case involved recent DNA advancements that permit us to unmask the monsters and serial child rapist hiding among us," stated DA Micheal E. Jimerson.
