Shocking Deal Lets Child Abuser Walk

A judge's hand holding a gavel in a courtroom setting

A Texas child sex abuser walked free in under 30 days, never registered as a sex offender, and still holds his law license — and now the plea deal cut by Ken Paxton’s office is tearing apart the race for U.S. Senate.

Story Snapshot

Prosecutors from Ken Paxton’s office reduced a charge that carried 25 years to life in prison down to two misdemeanors, resulting in just 60 days in jail for a convicted child sex abuser.
Adam Hoffman was not required to register as a sex offender under the plea deal, and he has still not surrendered his Texas law license as the agreement required.
Paxton has dodged questions for months about the deal, and even some Republican lawmakers are demanding answers.
Democrat James Talarico is using the case as his main attack against Paxton in the Texas Senate race, though some of his own claims go beyond what the facts can prove.

A Plea Deal That Shocked Even Republicans

Adam Hoffman, a Waco attorney, faced a charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child — a first-degree felony carrying 25 years to life in prison. Prosecutors from Paxton’s office reduced that charge to two misdemeanors. Hoffman was sentenced to just 60 days in jail and was released in under 30 days. The plea deal also did not require him to register as a sex offender. Republican lawmakers called the outcome “incomprehensible,” and the victim’s mother publicly said the system was “bent” to protect Hoffman instead of her son.^[5]

The McLennan County District Attorney’s Office had to step aside from the case entirely. The local district attorney had previously given legal advice to Hoffman before taking office, creating a conflict of interest.^[4] That recusal handed the case to Paxton’s office. Defense attorney Gerry Morris said he never spoke with Paxton directly about the case and saw no sign of his personal involvement.^[8] Still, the deal came from Paxton’s office, and Paxton has refused to explain why serious felony charges were dropped to misdemeanors.

Paxton Dodges, Accountability Stalls

Paxton has avoided answering basic questions about the case for months. He has refused to say whether Hoffman should be required to register as a sex offender.^[11] Texas State Representative Pat Curry stated that Paxton’s office “had no idea” what was even in the plea agreement — a sign of serious internal breakdown, if true.^[13] The judge in the case did push back on the original deal. Prosecutors first asked for “time served.” The judge increased the sentence to 60 days.^[10] That shows some judicial oversight, but the core question remains: why were the felony charges dropped at all?

To make matters worse, Hoffman still has not surrendered his Texas law license, which was a required condition of the plea deal. The Texas State Bar confirmed that Hoffman “has not met the terms of his plea agreement” on that point.^[2] A man convicted of child sex crimes continues to hold a law license in Texas. That is not a gray area — it is a failure of enforcement that demands a clear answer from someone in authority.

Talarico’s Attack Has Merit — and Limits

Democrat James Talarico has made this case the centerpiece of his Senate campaign against Paxton. Some of his attacks are well-grounded. The plea deal is real, the charges were serious, and Paxton’s silence is troubling. But Talarico’s claim that Paxton personally “released” Hoffman and “kept him off the registry” goes further than the evidence supports.^[1] The deal was negotiated by prosecutors in Paxton’s office, not by Paxton sitting at the table himself. Blaming the boss for his office’s actions is fair — but calling it direct personal corruption without proof weakens an otherwise strong argument.

Talarico also carries his own baggage. Past statements he made about transgender issues — including calling God “non-binary” — have given Paxton’s campaign easy material to shift the conversation away from the Hoffman case.^[1] Talarico admits some of those comments were “intentionally provocative.” That kind of self-inflicted distraction makes it harder to keep voters focused on a story that deserves serious attention. Texas has not elected a Democrat to statewide office since 1994, and Paxton won the Republican runoff by nearly 28 points with President Trump’s endorsement.^[22] The structural hill Talarico faces is steep. But the questions surrounding this plea deal are real — and they deserve straight answers, regardless of who wins in November.