Fort Hood, Texas — A retired Army staff sergeant who spent more than two years under strict bond conditions has been found not guilty of repeatedly sexually assaulting a teenage girl, after a Bell County jury concluded prosecutors failed to prove their case.
Craig Allen Showman, who retired from the Army in 2017 after 20 years of service as a staff sergeant, was acquitted Thursday on three counts of sexual assault of a child under 17 in the 478th Judicial District Court in Belton. The jury deliberated for about 35 minutes before returning not-guilty verdicts on all counts.
Judge Wade Faulkner signed formal judgments of acquittal on Friday, December 5, 2025, releasing Showman from the $100,000 bond and the conditions that had governed his life since his 2023 arrest.
Showman, born in 1974, had faced up to 20 years in prison on each count if convicted.
Allegations dating back more than a decade
The complainant, now 25, told police in 2020 that Showman raped her repeatedly between the ages of 13 and 18. Based on those allegations, a Bell County grand jury indicted Showman on September 20, 2023, on three felony counts of sexual assault of a child under 17 under Texas Penal Code §22.011(a)(2).
Showman was arrested days later after a warrant was issued and served by the sheriff’s office. He posted a commercial bond on October 5, 2023.
From there, the case moved slowly through the courts. Over the next two years:
- Defense attorneys filed multiple discovery requests, notices, and motions asking for evidence, witness lists, and recordings.
- The court entered an agreed order to obtain Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (CPS) records in January 2025.
- Both sides issued numerous subpoenas to law enforcement, state agencies, and other potential witnesses.
- Prosecutors filed notice of their intent to introduce alleged extraneous offenses or bad acts at trial.
Bond conditions were modified in November 2023. The court removed Showman’s GPS ankle monitor and curfew, but barred him from unsupervised contact with children under 14, except his own minor son, and restricted his access to schools and parks except when accompanying that son.
Defense: accuser moved away, timeline didn’t match
According to defense attorney Mary Beth Harrell, the case turned on basic facts that she said were never fully vetted before indictment.
Harrell told the Killeen Daily Herald that the accuser and her family moved to Pennsylvania while Showman remained in Texas. During trial, the defense used records and testimony to show that Showman was living thousands of miles away on two of the three days the state alleged assaults occurred, directly undercutting the timeline presented to the jury.
Harrell also challenged the quality of the initial investigation by Killeen police. The accuser, who was living in Georgia at the time she came forward, was interviewed there by another agency. Harrell said Killeen Police Department never interviewed her in person and that the investigation consisted of a handful of phone calls and a 17-minute out-of-state interview, with no meaningful follow-up by local detectives.
Court records show that in November 2025, Judge Faulkner ordered the state to turn over an audio recording of a conversation between the accuser and a Killeen officer, if such a recording existed, as part of broader discovery disputes before trial.
At trial, Harrell said, those gaps in the investigation became critical once the accuser was forced to testify under oath and answer detailed questions.
Harrell told the Herald she believed the allegations were “entirely fabricated” and that, based on testimony, the accuser felt abandoned when Showman remarried and his attention shifted to his new family. In Harrell’s view, that resentment turned into a motive to “blow up his life.” The jury ultimately rejected the state’s case but, as with all criminal acquittals, did not issue any finding as to why the complainant made the allegations.
Fast-moving trial ends with rapid verdict
A jury was selected on Monday, December 1, 2025. The court brought in a pool of 70 potential jurors, and both the prosecution and defense questioned them before choosing the final panel. According to the court minutes:
- December 1: Jury selected and sworn; motions in limine argued; jurors instructed and released for the day.
- December 2: The indictment was read, Showman entered a not guilty plea, and both sides gave opening statements. The accuser, identified in records as A. Witter, began testifying and continued into the next day.
- December 3: The prosecution called several witnesses, including A. Brawner, E. Keslar, and R. Van Valkenburg, before resting its case.
- December 4: The defense called at least two witnesses, including another daughter of his. After the defense rested, the judge finalized the jury charge and allowed 30 minutes of closing argument per side.
After receiving the court’s instructions, the jury retired to deliberate. According to Harrell, they returned with not-guilty verdicts on all three counts after about 35 minutes.
On Friday, December 5, the court entered separate written judgments of acquittal on each count and terminated Showman’s bond obligations, formally closing the case.
DA: ‘We respect the decision of the jury’
Bell County District Attorney Stephanie Newell defended the decision to bring the case, while acknowledging the outcome.
“The state presented the evidence that it believed supported a prosecution in this case,” Newell said in a statement to the Herald. “We respect the ultimate decision of the jury and we intend to continue to passionately advocate for justice for the victims of sexual violence in our community.”
Harrell, meanwhile, criticized the grand jury process that led to Showman’s indictment, arguing that in a case with so little corroborating evidence, grand jurors should have declined to indict.
She noted that Texas grand juries operate in secret, without the defendant or defense counsel present, and often hear only a brief summary of a police report or investigation before voting. Once indicted, defendants like Showman can spend years under restrictive bond conditions, facing the prospect of lengthy prison terms and sex-offender registration if convicted.
Impact on future sex assault reporting
Even as she celebrated the verdict, Harrell said she feared broader consequences for survivors of sexual violence.
“My client got the not-guilty verdict he deserves; but it’s tragic for other people out there who might be afraid to come forward even though they truly are victims of sexual abuse,” she told the Herald.
The case highlights a tension familiar to many in the military and veteran community: how to aggressively pursue credible allegations of sexual abuse while also protecting the rights of the accused and insisting on serious, thorough investigations before someone’s reputation, career, and freedom are put on the line.
For Showman and his family, the acquittal ends more than five years of uncertainty that began when the accuser first called Killeen police on October 21, 2020. For prosecutors and victim advocates, it will likely fuel ongoing debates over how to investigate and prosecute long-ago allegations where physical evidence is scarce and witness memories are in dispute.
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