Waco Man Sentenced to 35 Years for Child Sexual Assault

Isaac Dwaine Cotton, 23, of Waco, was sentenced to 35 years in prison this past Thursday. The judgment comes after Cotton entered a guilty plea to two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and two counts of indecency with a child by contact. The McLennan County District Attorney’s Office reached a plea agreement with Cotton. Judge Thomas West of the 19th State District Court accepted the terms, which included two concurrent 35-year sentences for the aggravated sexual assault charges and two 20-year concurrent sentences for the indecency charges. Cotton will be eligible for parole after serving 17-and-a-half years. As part of the agreement, the DA’s office did not pursue a statutory element that would have mandated a minimum of 25 years to life without parole, typically applied when the victim is under six years old. Additionally, an unrelated aggravated assault case from February 2025, where Cotton reportedly threatened three men with a machete, was dropped, though the judge considered this incident during sentencing. Prosecutor Luke McCowan expressed gratitude to the victim’s mother and stepfather for their swift reporting to law enforcement, highlighting how crucial parental protection is in these cases. He stated, “Having parents who protect and support their children can completely change the trajectory of the prosecution of a child sexual abuse case. Here it secured a lengthy prison sentence, a waiver of appeal and the child did not have to testify, ensuring justice and closure for this family.” Cotton's attorney, Lyle Gripp, commented that “it’s a sad case.” According to an arrest affidavit, the child bravely disclosed that Cotton had touched her inappropriately and made her touch him. She also revealed that Cotton had used a frozen green ice pop in the assault, a detail seemingly corroborated by a green ice pop stick found near Cotton’s bed by a roommate during the investigation.