Limestone County man sentenced to automatic life in prison in sexual abuse of young child

GROESBECK, Texas (KWTX) - A convicted child molester from Limestone County was sentenced to an automatic life prison term Friday in the October 2023 sexual abuse of a 5-year-old girl.

A Limestone County jury convicted Joshua Joseph Kofnovec, 46, of Billington, of aggravated sexual assault of a child and indecency with a child by exposure after a four-day trial in 77^th State District Court.

By statute, Judge Amy Ward sentenced Kofnovec to an automatic life prison term because he had a prior indecency with a child by contact conviction in Hill County in 2023. The jury also sentenced him to 20 years in prison on the indecency count, which Kofnovec will serve concurrently with his life prison term.

He will be eligible for parole after earning credit for serving 30 years in prison.

Testimony at trial revealed Kofnovec, a former employee at Central Link Broadband in Waco, has sexually molested at least five other children younger than 10 dating back to his teen years.

Assistant District Attorney Beth Toben, who prosecuted the case with Jami Lowry, praised the young victim for having the courage to report the abuse to her mother and to testify in court.

“We are proud of her, and appreciative to his other victims who came forward to support her and testify about what he did to them,” Toben said. “Kofnovec befriended vulnerable parents, providing financial assistance and babysitting to help them. Then he betrayed their trust by abusing their children. We are thankful that the jury recognized this behavior and convicted him so the judge could sentence him to the automatic life sentence he deserved.”

The victim in the case, who is now 9, was the daughter of Kofnovec’s friend, Toben said.