A Comal County jury Feb. 17 found 42-year-old Jarrod Gaines Kirkus guilty of child trafficking, sexual assault, possession of child pornography and online solicitation of a minor, crimes Judge Bruce Boyer of the 22nd District Court called “disgusting” and “beyond the pale.”
The next day, the jury handed down 14 life sentences plus 100 years in prison.
“He chose life, choice after choice, victim after victim, Jarrod Gaines Kirkus chose his life sentences,” District Attorney Jennifer Tharp said in closing arguments.
Kirkus was found guilty of three counts of trafficking a child, four counts of sexual assault of a child, five counts of possession with intent to promote child pornography, one count of attempted trafficking of a child, and one count of online solicitation of a minor.
He also pleaded guilty to five counts of possession of child pornography.
The jury sentenced Kirkus to life in prison on each of the primary counts and to 20 years of imprisonment on each of the five possession counts, the maximum sentence.
Boyer granted the state’s request to stack 18 of the convictions, meaning Kirkus will serve his prison sentences consecutively instead of concurrently.
The trial began Feb. 9.
Testimony
Prosecutors presented testimony from multiple witnesses, including the teenage victim, her family members, Comal County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) deputies, a retired San Antonio police officer and a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) who testified about the impact of sexual assault on victims.
Victim #1 said she met Kirkus through Snapchat when she was 14. Over the course of a year, he communicated with her repeatedly and provided gifts, including money and clothing.
Over time, he gained her trust “and exploited her vulnerability through deception,” the District Attorney’s office said in a statement.
“Kirkus also falsely portrayed himself as an orthodontist, when in reality he was a registered sex offender living with his parents in Guadalupe County.”
The victim agreed to meet Kirkus in person when she was 15. He transported her to a hotel in New Braunfels numerous times to engage in sexual activity.
Kirkus also took the victim to his sister’s residence, when she and her husband were out of town, to serve alcohol and sexually assault the teenager.
CCSO Det. Eric Guerrettaz said he seized multiple electronic devices belonging to Kirkus that corroborated the victim’s statements.
A forensic analysis revealed Kirkus had numerous images of child pornography, including videos he filmed of himself sexually assaulting the victim.
He also shared numerous sexual video clips of himself with the victim with third parties and through social media.
‘Dead to rights’
“Y’all already got me dead to rights,” Kirkus said in an interview with the detective.
When asked why he was attracted to children, Kirkus blamed his early prison experience — he was convicted in 2005 in Bexar County for sexual solicitation of a minor-aggravated sexual assault, possession of child pornography and aggravated sexual assault — and admitted he had sent “nudes” to “hundreds” of girls on social media, adding he was not sure of their ages.
The sex offender described how he would pick up his first victim (#1) at the end of her street near a stop sign instead of at her house.
She told him her parents caught her sneaking out and were chasing her, trying to stop Kirkus’ vehicle from leaving when she got into his car.
CCSO began investigating Kirkus in June 2023 after the victim’s mother contacted them to report her 15-year-old daughter had gotten into a red vehicle with an unknown adult male.
Other Victims
Guerrettaz also uncovered several videos on Kirkus’ phone involving a pre-pubescent child engaging in sexual contact.
Detectives determined the videos and photographs were sent to Kirkus by someone with the username ‘guardlizard05.’
On that basis he was taken into custody on Comal County arrest warrants at an apartment complex in Live Oak in Bexar County, where he lived with an adult female and her two children, a son and her 10-year-old daughter, victim #3.
When officers arrived, they found Kirkus sleeping with the young girl.
Guerretaz asked Live Oak police to send him a screenshot of the child Kirkus lay in bed with, and used that to positively identify her as the same child appearing in Kirkus’ social media files.
The videos of the sexual assaults were recorded by the child’s mother.
The jury heard numerous graphic Snapchat messages between Kirkus and the mother stating what he wanted to do sexually to the child, and what he wanted the child to do to him.
Kirkus offered payments, and gifts including toys and treats such as cookies for sexual encounters with the 10-year-old.
Child Protective Services removed the children from the home and reunited them with their biological father, who said he had searched for them for more than four years after the mother moved away and cut off all contact.
During the punishment phase of the trial, the jury learned about Kirkus’ sex crimes in Bexar County, for which he received an eight-year prison sentence.
Victim #2 in that incident, now an adult, also appeared before jurors, testifying she was 11 or 12 years old when Kirkus sexually assaulted her.
She told the jury she still struggles with the impact of his actions, describing the lifelong trauma sustained at his hands.
Failure to Register
Guerrettaz said Kirkus also failed to properly disclose information related to his status as a sex offender to Guadalupe County law enforcement after his release from prison in 2012.
As required by law, he failed to provide an online identifier for his social-media accounts, an email address or the actual phone number he used to communicate with children for sex.
The phone belonged to his employer.