Former Cass County teacher sentenced to 100 years in prison

A 39-year-old Linden, Texas man was sentenced by a jury of his peers Thursday to 100 years in prison, according to Cass County District Attorney Courtney Shelton’s office.

Aaron Michael Marshall was found guilty of continuous sexual abuse of a child, two counts of sexual assault of a child, and six counts of indecency with a child by contact.

According to previous Journal-Sun reports, Marshall — who was a teacher in Hughes Springs — was arrested and charged for the crimes after Marshall turned himself in on February 23 of this year.

Shelton said at the time her office had been contacted by the Linden Police Department on Feb. 20 to assist with a series of reported child sex crimes. The investigation soon identified Marshall as the perpetrator of numerous sex crimes against a child that began in 2016 and continued until 2020.

Cass County Justice of Magistrate Court Barbara McMillon issued a total of ten warrants for Marshall’s arrest—including four first-degree felony warrants and six second-degree felony warrants.

Marshall was contacted by Shelton’s office and surrendered himself on February 23 before being booked in Cass County Detention Center to await arraignment.

Marshall was charged with continuous sexual assault of a child and three counts of sexual assault of a child, all of which are first-degree felonies, and six second-degree felony counts of indecency with a child by contact.

At his arraignment on Feb. 24, Marshall’s total bond was set for $3,500,000.

At the time of his arrest, Marshall was employed by Hughes Springs ISD as a high school teacher and coach. The district issued a statement on Feb. 23, following news of Marshall’s arrest: “Hughes Springs ISD is committed to keeping our parents and community informed regarding all matters that have implications for the safety and security of our students,” the statement from Superintendent Srah Dildine and the board began “HSISD is aware of the arrest of a district employee, Aaron Michael Marshall, today for continuous sexual abuse of a child, sexual assault of a child – bigamy, and indecency with a child by contact. The alleged victim is not an HSISD student.”

According to the district’s statement, Marshall was fully vetted prior to his employment with the district in August of last year. They also noted that Marshall was placed on leave immediately.

“Prior to Mr. Marshall’s employment with HSISD beginning in August 2021, HSISD performed a criminal background check, checked his name against the Texas Education Agency’s Do Not Hire Registry, and checked his references, all with no irregularities revealed. Upon learning of the arrest, HSISD immediately placed Mr. Marshall on administrative leave,” the statement read.

Before coming to Hughes Springs, Marshall had served as a coach in numerous school districts in and around the area including Hooks ISD, Winona ISD, Dallas ISD, Jefferson ISD, Bloomburg ISD, and Karnack ISD, according to previous Journal-Sun reports.

At the time, the Cass County DA’s office finished their statement with a plea for anyone who may have any other information on Marshall to contact their office, given the nature of the offenses.

Shelton said Marshall’s century-long sentence will be carried out at Texas Department of Corrections.