Frayne Jemol Benton v. the State of Texas

• Court: Texas Court of Appeals, 6th District (Texarkana)
• Decided: May 28, 2026
• Docket: 06-25-00146-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

In the Court of Appeals Sixth Appellate District of Texas at Texarkana

No. 06-25-00146-CR

FRAYNE JEMOL BENTON, Appellant

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the 296th District Court Collin County, Texas Trial Court No. 296-83773-2024

Before Stevens, C.J., van Cleef and Rambin, JJ. Memorandum Opinion by Justice Rambin MEMORANDUM OPINION

After a bench trial, Frayne Jemol Benton was convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a

child under fourteen years old.1 See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. 22.021(a)(1)(B) (Supp.). After

hearing evidence during the punishment phase, the trial court sentenced Benton to thirty-six

years imprisonment. Benton appeals.

Benton’s appellate counsel filed a brief pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738

(1967), asserting that the appeal is without merit and that no reversible error appears in the

record. We have conducted an independent review of the entire record and the Anders brief. We

affirm the trial court’s judgment.

Benton’s trial counsel has filed a brief stating that he reviewed the record and found no

genuinely arguable issues that could be raised on appeal. The brief outlines the procedural

history of the case and summarizes the evidence presented during the trial court proceedings.

Since counsel has provided a professional evaluation of the record demonstrating why there are

no arguable grounds to be advanced, that evaluation meets the requirements of Anders. Anders,

386 U.S. at 743; Kelly v. State, 436 S.W.3d 313, 319–20 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014). Counsel also

filed a motion with this Court seeking to withdraw as counsel in this appeal.

On February 10, 2026, appellate counsel advised this Court that he would mail Benton

copies of the brief and motion to withdraw. Benton was informed of his right to review the

1 This appeal was transferred to this Court from the Fifth Court of Appeals pursuant to a Texas Supreme Court docket equalization order. See TEX. GOV’T CODE ANN. § 73.001 (Supp.). Accordingly, we apply the precedent of the Fifth Court of Appeals in deciding this case to the extent that it conflicts with our own. See TEX. R. APP. P. 41.3. 2 record and file a pro se response. Benton then filed a pro se motion for access to the record on

February 19. We issued an order on March 5, 2026, granting the same.

Via the March 5 order, this Court also informed Benton that his pro se response was due

on or before April 20, 2026. We received neither a pro se response from Benton nor a motion

requesting an extension of time in which to file such a response.

We have reviewed the entire appellate record and Benton’s pro se response and have

independently determined that no reversible error exists. See Bledsoe v. State, 178 S.W.3d 824,

826–27 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005). In the Anders context, once we determine that no reversible

error exists, we must affirm the trial court’s judgment. Id.

We affirm the trial court’s judgment.2

Jeff Rambin Justice

Date Submitted: May 27, 2026 Date Decided: May 28, 2026

Do Not Publish

2 Since we agree that this case presents no reversible error, we also, in accordance with Anders, grant counsel’s request to withdraw from further representation of appellant in this case. See Anders, 386 U.S. at 744. No substitute counsel will be appointed. Should appellant desire to seek further review of this case by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, appellant must either retain an attorney to file a petition for discretionary review or file a pro se petition for discretionary review. Any petition for discretionary review (1) must be filed within thirty days from either the date of this opinion or the date on which the last timely motion for rehearing was overruled by this Court, see TEX. R. APP. P. 68.2, (2) must be filed with the clerk of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, see TEX. R. APP. P. 68.3, and (3) should comply with the requirements of Rule 68.4 of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, see TEX. R. APP. P. 68.4. 3