The jury began deliberating late Wednesday afternoon in the Tarrant County trial of a Brownwood physician accused of aggravated sexual assault of a child. As of 9 p.m. the jury had gone home and will not decide the case until today.

Dr. Donald Delmar Pope, 54, of Brownwood, was originally arrested on the Tarrant County charge in July 2006. It stemmed from an incident that allegedly occurred in an Arlington hotel room in August 2000.

Pope was arrested and charged in the incident on July 23, 2006. He was subsequently indicted by a Tarrant County grand jury and was released from jail after posting a $20,000 bond.

The Tarrant County case involves the alleged sexual assault of an 8-year-old girl on an outing with Pope and his daughter in 2000, according to Reporter-News archives.

The child in the Tarrant County case, who is now 16 and lives in Brown County, reportedly told a church counselor about the alleged incident in July of 2006, and the counselor contacted Arlington police.

The statute of limitations on sexual assault of a child is 10 years after the child's 18th birthday.

Aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14 years of age is considered a first-degree felony and carries a prison sentence of five to 99 years with a $10,000 fine.

In March, Pope was indicted by a Brown County grand jury on sexual assault of a child. He turned himself in and was released on $100,000 bond.

The Brown County indictment reportedly is not related to the case in Tarrant County.