Texas pastor pleads guilty to federal charge of possessing child pornography

A Georgetown, Texas, man who served as the pastor at a Round Rock church pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to an enhanced charge of child pornography possession.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a press release that David Lloyd Walther, 57, admitted to knowingly searching for, downloading, distributing and possessing child sexual abuse material, including child pornography.

The original complaint accused Walther of downloading child pornography and making it available online using a file-sharing network called BitTorrent.

FBI ARRESTS TEXAS PASTOR ON CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CHARGES

Authorities executed search warrants at Walther’s home and in his vehicle in November 2022.

During the search, investigators found two large computer hard drives that contained more than 100,000 images and over 5,000 videos depicting child sexual abuse.

At the time of Walther’s arrest, he was serving as the pastor at Faith Baptist Church in Round Rock, Texas.

TEXAS MAN GIVEN LIFE SENTENCE FOR SECRETLY RECORDING 23 WOMEN, INCLUDING TEENAGER

Walther faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

The FBI San Antonio Division’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force investigated the case with assistance from the Round Rock Police Department, Williamson County Sheriff’s Office and Williamson County Children’s Advocacy Center.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the DOJ in 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.