A convicted El Campo child abuser is asking the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals for a new trial after a lower court upheld his 25-year sentence. Forty-five-year-old Adam Dave Abelar was convicted last year for choking and beating a child with a belt. His appeal claims his trial lawyer failed to object to testimony from police and a Crisis Center worker. Judges ruled that by not objecting, Abelar forfeited his argument. Already a repeat offender, Abelar remains in prison and won’t be eligible for parole until ’27.