GALVESTON — A Galveston County jury sentenced Preston Alvin Chenier Jr. to eight years in prison Monday for an aggravated sexual assault that occurred nearly 27 years ago in La Marque, according to the Galveston County Criminal District Attorney’s Office.

The assault occurred Dec. 4, 1999, when Chenier and his cousin, Michael Chenier, both of DeQuincy, Louisiana, abducted a woman along FM 1764 in La Marque, according to prosecutors.

The original investigation by the La Marque Police Department did not identify a suspect, but investigators preserved DNA evidence collected from the victim.

Years later, the DNA evidence was matched to a sample in the Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, a national DNA database. The match led to the case being reopened and eventually resulted in a September 2023 indictment charging Preston Chenier with aggravated sexual assault with a deadly weapon.

During the trial, jurors heard testimony from the victim and Lori Hines, who encountered the woman shortly after the attack.

Hines testified that she was leaving her job at Gulf Greyhound Park at about 2:30 a.m. when she found the woman near the roadway wearing only socks. The victim testified that two men wearing ski masks approached her in a pickup truck while she was walking along FM 1764.

The victim testified that one of the men, later identified as Michael Chenier, approached her with a knife and forced her into the truck. She told jurors that both men sexually assaulted her.

Lisa Gray, a sexual assault nurse examiner who examined the victim following the attack, testified that the woman suffered significant physical trauma. Gray also testified that the victim’s hair had been cut unevenly and that she was bleeding.

Assistant District Attorney Robert “Brock” Yates presented testimony from the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Laboratory that DNA recovered during the sexual assault examination matched Chenier.

La Marque police Detective Matthew Cypert also testified about the investigation. Cypert, who now teaches criminal justice, said the case remained unsolved for years before a CODIS match led to the investigation being reopened.

Jurors also viewed surveillance video from an ATM on Dec. 4, 1999, which prosecutors said showed a man wearing a ski mask using the victim’s debit card.

Chenier testified in his own defense. According to the district attorney’s office, he disputed some aspects of the victim’s account but acknowledged much of her version of events. He denied seeing a knife and disputed that the sexual activity was nonconsensual.

The jury deliberated for less than four hours before finding Chenier guilty.

During the punishment phase, which began Sept. 21, three of Chenier’s family members testified about his contributions to his community during the years since the assault and asked jurors to consider probation.

Prosecutors argued that the amount of time that had passed since the 1999 assault did not eliminate Chenier’s responsibility for the offense.

The jury rejected the request for community supervision and sentenced Chenier to eight years in prison after deliberating for about four hours.

The Criminal District Attorney’s Office credited the La Marque Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, the Texas DPS Crime Laboratory and HCA Mainland, formerly Mainland Medical Center, for their involvement in the case.