Ken Paxton defends the short jail time given to a man accused of abusing a child for years, and faces immediate backlash: ‘He does oppo on himself’

Ken Paxton spoke on Monday at a United States Hispanic Business Council forum billed as In Dialogue: TEXAS. Javier Palomarez hosted the session. During a question about child sex trafficking, Paxton brought up a plea involving Waco attorney Adam Hoffman and an ad from Democratic opponent James Talarico. Talarico is set to appear in the same series on September 30.

Paxton said the ad claims he let a predator out of jail and called that presentation misrepresentative. He said his office tries these cases and does not always control a jury’s decision.

“So we were in a case with an underage person who was – we got a 7-5 jury split on, you have to have unanimous, we had seven in our favor,” he said.

Paxton’s account of the child witness and the reported plea terms

Paxton said the child witness was the office’s strongest evidence and did not want to take the stand again. He said prosecutors could have issued a subpoena. “In some ways, I don’t blame that kid for not wanting to go through that one more time,” Paxton said.

He said critics accuse him of releasing a child predator after one day. “Well, guess what? They served 60 days,” Paxton said. Paxton’s defense of his office’s actions has drawn scrutiny from political opponents, such as when James Talarico called him to challenge him to a debate.

He said the office wanted a retrial, then chose to protect the child instead of chasing the verdict it wanted. “And so it’s so dishonest to present it any other way, because that’s actually what happened,” he said.

Hoffman was accused of sexually abusing and raping a boy over a span of years when the child was 8 to 10 years old. The Texas Tribune reported that Paxton’s office offered a deal that dropped a felony charge of continuous sexual abuse of a young child.

Hoffman pleaded to two misdemeanors: indecent assault and display of harmful materials to a minor. The offer did not require sex-offender registration and would have set jail time at one day.

The assigned judge rejected that jail term and imposed 60 days plus surrender of Hoffman’s Texas law license. In the plea papers, Hoffman agreed he touched the victim’s genitals with intent to arouse or gratify his sexual desire and acted without consent. The documents did not state the victim’s age.

Hoffman left jail after 29 days in late May. He gave up his Texas bar license in July. His Nebraska license remains on the books but inactive. The Texas Tribune reported that the boy’s mother accepted an early version of the deal in court and later said she disagrees with the result. “We were put in an impossible situation,” she said. “How do you trust the prosecution to go back to a case that they want to plead out when they’re the ones that are supposed to fight for it, and they don’t want to do it?”

A shorter clip of Paxton’s comments spread online. Users noted that the judge, not the plea offer, set the 60-day term and that Hoffman served 29 days. Paxton has a history of drawing attention to his own controversies, such as when a caller asked him about cheating on his wife during a town hall.

The clip also drew a reaction from liberal commentator Harry Sisson, who wrote, “Holy s–t… the Republican Party, everyone!” Journalist and progressive podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen followed by criticizing Paxton’s argument: “He’s bragging about a two month sentence for a serial child molester. Two months.”

Sarah Longwell of The Bulwark had a pointed response to the clip, writing, “This guy puts out incredible content. It’s like he does oppo on himself.” Influencer Jared Shult added: “No way he thought this was a good line.”