In a high-profile case that underscores the severe consequences of a child pornography conviction in Texas, a former pastor from The Woodlands was sentenced to prison for possession of child sex abuse material.
Cases like this highlight the aggressive prosecution of child pornography charges and the critical need for a skilled Houston criminal attorney who specializes in sex crime defense. Whether you’re facing similar accusations or seeking to understand Texas’s evolving laws, this blog explores the stakes, the defenses, and the legal complexities surrounding such charges.
A former pastor for a congregation in The Woodlands has been sentenced to 2 years in state prison for possession of child sex abuse material.
According to Christian media outlet The Roys Report, court records show that on January 7, 2025, Judge Phil Grant of the 9th District Court of Texas sentenced Bruce Hollen, 63, to 2 years in state prison for possessing child sex abuse material.
The former pastor began serving his sentence the same day and will be credited with 24 days for time already served.
He was arrested in May of 2024 as part of a statewide sting operation focusing on internet crimes against children. In November 2024, he pleaded guilty to a charge of possession with intent to promote child pornography, which is a second-degree felony.
For several years, Hollen had been pastor of the now-closed Calvary Chapel congregation in The Woodlands, north of Houston. The church, which was founded in 2002, reportedly closed in May of 2024 just after news spread about his case.
Court records described the images the ex-pastor possessed as “girls between the ages of 9 and 12 years old, naked from the waist down… In some of the images, the girls were engaged in sexual activity.”
Many church leaders have been accused or arrested
The case was just one of many such incidents to come to light recently involving conservative Christian pastors in Texas who have been accused of sex crimes.
In December of 2024, an associate pastor of a North Texas church was arrested and charged with the sex crimes of invasive visual recording and possessing child pornography.
The North Texas pastor charged with the crimes was Arturo Alarcon, 38, who’d been affiliated with 121 Community Church in Grapevine, just northwest of Dallas. After his arrest, the church terminated his employment.
In June of 2024, Robert Morris, 62, resigned as senior pastor of Gateway Church, a nondenominational Christian megachurch averaging around 100,000 parishioners weekly and located in Southlake, north of Arlington and part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
His resignation followed reports of his alleged abuse of an underage female. Morris had previously told his congregation, with remorse, that he had had an extramarital affair with a woman years earlier.
But last year, it was reported that the so-called affair actually involved inappropriate sexual contact with a child of 12 while he was a traveling evangelist in Oklahoma in the 1980s.
In Texas, no statute of limitations would have applied because the alleged victim was under 16 years of age.
16 Commonly Asked Questions About Child Pornography Offenses
Get the facts about child pornography charges and offenses in Texas so you know how to defend your rights.
Texas laws on child sex abuse could get even harsher
Texas already has harsh laws on child sex abuse, but state statutes could become even more harsh in the next legislative session, given sentiments expressed by some lawmakers.
That could involve eliminating all statutes of limitations for sex crimes involving children, regardless of the specific child sex crime. That means charges could be filed no matter how many years have passed since the alleged crime.
What are Texas sex crimes involving children?
As for the sex crimes involving children that are cited by Texas laws, they include:
- Improper relationship between an educator and a student
- Aggravated child sex abuse
- Child molestation
- Continuous child molestation
- Sexual performance by a child
Punishments for child sex crimes in Texas
Texas punishments for sex crimes involving children can be particularly harsh.
For example, online solicitation of a minor, which is a second-degree felony, can bring punishments upon conviction of 2 to 20 years in prison, a fine of as much as $10,000 and being required to register as a sex offender for 10 years after release from prison.
As for possession of child pornography, it can bring upon conviction a prison sentence of 2 to 10 years per count. Thus, a person who was convicted of 2 counts of the crime could face up to 20 years in prison.
Keep in mind, as well, that if a child seen in the imagery was younger than 14 years old at the time the image was recorded, the charge can be elevated to a first-degree felony.
Then, possible punishments rise to a minimum of 5 years in state prison and a maximum of 99 years—or life—in state prison, along with a fine of as much as $10,000.
In addition, distributing child porn images or even showing the intent to distribute child porn images can bring a sentence of 2 to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
Get a top Houston-area sex crime defense lawyer
If you or a member of your family in the Houston area faces an accusation or a charge of a sex crime involving a child or minor, you must get the best sex crime defense lawyer or attorney you can find. Given the severe punishments in Texas, your future and your freedom may depend on it.
Houston’s Neal Davis Law Firm is a widely honored criminal defense law firm that fights to protect the legal rights of persons accused of crimes in The Woodlands, Kingwood, Katy, Sugar Land, and elsewhere in Harris County, Fort Bend County, and Montgomery County.
Sex crimes involving children are emotionally charged and draw fierce scrutiny from the public and from law enforcement officials who do not want to appear to be “soft” on such crimes.
But not everyone who faces a charge or an accusation is guilty. Some persons who are swept up in the widely cast nets of authorities’ sting operations should not be subjected to a sex crime charge or the public contempt that such a charge can bring.
We have worked successfully to get such charges reduced or even dismissed outright via our investigations and negotiations with prosecutors. But if it was necessary to go to trial, we have defended our clients in court to the point of exoneration.
