O’Neal heads to court for injuries to 7-month old

By LYNETTE SOWELL

Cove Leader-Press

The trial of Jacquel Torran O’Neal is soon set to begin—again. O’Neal has remained in the Coryell County jail for nearly three years and is charged with one count of aggravated sexual assault of a child and three counts of injury to a child. The Cove man, 19 years old at the time, was arrested on Aug. 9, 2012 and has remained in jail on a $700,000 bond. O’Neal’s girlfriend, Diamond Pender, then 19, was arrested at the same time. She initially faced one charge of injury to a child, but was arraigned on three more charges in July 2013 due to her child’s injuries. Pender is currently out on bond and is expected to testify for the state during the trial in exchange for a plea agreement. The charges stem from injuries to Pender’s sevenmonth- old daughter to include a burn on the abdomen, fractures of both legs and three broken ribs, as a result of O’Neal allegedly striking her repeatedly, as well as an injury to her vaginal area which required surgical repair. At the time, the original report said Pender did not take her child for medical treatment because she didn’t want to get the authorities involved. This will be the second trial for O’Neal. In February 2014, the case went to trial but there were not enough people who showed up for a jury pool. Thus, a mistrial was declared. This time around, 500 have been summoned for the jury in the hopes there will be enough from that group to seat a jury for the trial.