A Lufkin jury found Burt Duron Scruggs, 50, of Lufkin, guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and sexual assault, according to the office of District Attorney Amy Wren. The trial was held in the 217th Judicial District Court. The jury set his punishment at 20 years in the institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Wren said a woman testified that Scruggs went into her home in June 2020 and assaulted her. She said she was beaten, strangled and sexually assaulted. She later escaped and went to a neighbor's house, where police were called. Several other women also testified that Scruggs had harmed them in the past.
Wren said 20 years is the maximum sentence allowed by law for these offenses. The two sentences will run at the same time because the offenses happened during the same criminal episode. The jury could not reach a unanimous decision on a charge of aggravated kidnapping. The Lufkin Police Department and the Family Crisis Center of East Texas assisted in the case.