Sexual assault charges filed against Texas delivery man accused of killing 7-year-old girl

Prosecutors charged the FedEx driver, arrested this month and accused of killing a 7-year-old girl, with the alleged sexual assault of a minor, jail records in Texas revealed.

Tanner Lynn Horner, 31, had been booked into custody and charged with capital murder and aggravated kidnapping, and Wise County jail records now show he’s also facing three counts of sexual assault on a child.

It is not clear if the new charges are related to the death of Athena Strand.

Horner had told investigators the girl was not seriously injured when he accidentally backed his truck into her, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

The suspect told investigators that he “panicked” and feared “she was going to tell her father about being hit by the FedEx truck the Defendant was operating,” leading him to strangle her, the affidavit said.

Horner’s attorney and representatives for Wise County District Attorney James Stainton and Sheriff Lane Akin could not be immediately reached for comment on Wednesday.

The girl’s father, Jacob Strand, has filed a lawsuit against the delivery driver, FedEx and the contractor who hired Horner.

The plaintiff claims that FedEx holds “significant control” over employees and contractors who deliver packages. He accused FedEx and Big Topspin, the contractor who hired Horner, of negligence.