A convicted child sexual abuser who received leniency from Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office was released on Monday after just 30 days in a McLennan County jail, KWTX reported.
Former Waco attorney Adam Hoffman walked free on good behavior halfway through his 60-day sentence for sexually abusing a child, according to the outlet. Hoffman’s case sparked bipartisan criticism of Paxton after prosecutors in his office allowed the abuser to plead down his charges following a deadlocked jury and the victim’s unwillingness to testify again.
The attorney general’s office did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment. Paxton is running for the Senate with President Donald Trump’s endorsement in a Tuesday runoff against Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn.
Hoffman pleaded guilty in April to indecent assault and displaying harmful materials to a minor for sexually abusing his son’s close friend repeatedly over a three-year period, KWTX reported. Prosecutors reportedly offered no jail time before a judge increased the punishment to 60 days. Hoffman is not required to register as a sex offender, according to the outlet.
Responding to criticism from Republican Texas State Rep. Jeff Leach, Paxton’s prosecutors said in a May 15 letter that they wanted to re-try the case but could not. The authors said their backgrounds include work on thousands of child sex abuse cases combined.
“As with any child sexual assault trial, participation in this process took a massive emotional toll on every witness involved, especially the child,” they wrote. “And, unfortunately, that jury could not reach a unanimous verdict, resulting in a hung jury by a vote of seven to five, with seven voting to convict.”
“Nonetheless, our office was prepared to re-try the case and seek a conviction. However, following his experience in the first trial, the child made clear that he would not voluntarily testify at a second trial … the child emphasized that he preferred to move on with his life and prioritize his mental and emotional health over subjection to the unimaginably difficult position of once again testifying against the man who abused him,” Paxton’s office said.
Re-trying the case would have required forcing the victim to testify against his will, which prosecutors could not accept, they told Leach.
“You are welcome to second-guess our decisions, but our hope is that you and others who have taken an interest in this case would respect the child’s privacy and his decision on how to move forward with his life,” Paxton’s team wrote.
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