Jury orders 45 years for former slugger Mel Hall
By SCHUYLER DIXON
Associated Press Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas — Former major league outfielder Mel Hall has been sentenced to 45 years in prison after being convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl he coached on an elite basketball team.
A Tarrant County jury on Wednesday sentenced Hall to 40 years in the aggravated sexual assault charges and five years on the indecency charges.
He must serve about 22 1/2 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole.
The jurors took about 90 minutes Tuesday to convict Hall on three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and two counts of indecency with a child and a little more than hour on the punishment.