Texas Attorney General and Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton seems to think that letting a child predator out of jail after just two months is something to brag about.
Paxton’s remarks came at a United States Hispanic Business Council forum in Fort Worth on Monday.
“The criticism has been that I let a child predator out [after serving] one day,” Paxton said. “Well guess what? They served 60 days. It wasn’t what we wanted, but we did not control the situation. We did our best.”
That is not what you want to hear from a state attorney general running for Senate.
The embattled attorney general is referring to the sweetheart deal his prosecutors offered to Adam Hoffman, a Texas man charged with repeatedly molesting a young boy, earlier this year. The deal would have allowed Hoffman to serve just one day in prison for the crime he pleaded guilty to, and allowed him to avoid signing up for the sex offender registry—a move that was widely criticized. The judge in the case was appalled by the deal. “One day. Seriously? Somebody has to sell me on the wisdom of it,” said Judge Roy Sparkman, who insisted on the 60-day sentence.
Paxton’s most recent comment comes just a little over one month before what many expect to be an extremely close midterm election against Democratic candidate James Talarico.
“Omg he is STILL lying. Paxton’s office originally tried to get ONE day, the judge rejected it and bumped it to 60, but even then, Adam Hoffman was released early only served 30 days. For child rape. And Paxton’s office didn’t even put the bare minimum requirement for him to register as a sex offender in the deal,” wrote Sara McGee, a Democratic nominee for the Texas House of Representatives. “A completely corrupt failure at every level.”
