On Monday, June 15, 2026, Donald Ray Cady, 45, of Alba, Texas, pleaded guilty to the felony offense of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Young Child. As a result of his plea, he was sentenced to 25 years confinement in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and will have to serve all 25 years of his sentence. Cady was also ordered to pay $1,100 in fines and court costs. A lifetime protective order was granted against Cady on behalf of the victim and the victim’s parents and he is prohibited from having any contact with or coming within 200 yards of the victim or her parents for the remainder of his life. Cady will also have to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life. The victim was 13 years old.
In 2022, the Alba Police Department was made aware that Cady had been having sex with a 13 year old victim. The victim was interviewed at the Northeast Texas Child Advocacy Center in Winnsboro and made outcries of sexual abuse against her by Cady. A friend of the victim, also a teenage girl, was also interviewed at the Northeast Texas Child Advocacy Center and she confirmed that she had observed Cady having sex with the victim. A forensic analysis of the victim’s phone revealed text messages between Cady and the victim in which Cady sent sexually explicit text messages, told the victim that he “love[d]” her, that “[he was] afraid [her] mom was going to turn [him] in,” and included a selfie. The victim informed investigators that Cady threatened to harm her and her parents if she ever told anyone about what happened.
Wood County Criminal District Attorney Angela Albers commented, “This case is a horrible tragedy for this child, a member of the most innocent group of our society. My office had numerous conversations with the victim and her parents and discussed the possibility of her potentially being re-traumatized by the effects of a jury trial. After those discussions, the victim and her parents approved of the terms of this plea bargain and the victim made it clear that she wanted to put this monster behind her and move on with her life. I am so proud of the victim for her strength and bravery in coming forward and being honest with the investigators about what this Defendant did to her. I hope that this plea allows the victim to move forward with her life and she can continue to heal from this tragedy. This offense is one of the most, if not the most, vile acts a human being can commit and the Defendant is going to spend 25 years of his life behind bars for it. I will continue to prosecute predators like the Defendant to the fullest extent of the law and continue to uphold my oath to protect the children of Wood County.”