Former CPS investigator pleads guilty to second-degree sexual assault of a child
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Slade King, former Child Protective Services (CPS) investigator for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), stood accused of second-degree sexual assault of a child under the age of 17. In a surprising twist, King decided to open plea for that felony charge, instead of facing a jury trial next week in the 350th District Court.
According to Assistant District Attorney Erin Stamey, an open plea means "he (King) will plead guilty without a plea bargain." Stamey also said that there will be "sentencing at a later date and the judge will decide the punishment."
With this plea, King decided to avoid a jury trial, and instead will be sentenced by Judge Thomas Wheeler of the 350th District Court. The sentencing could take time, where Judge Wheeler might hear evidence from the victim of King who alleged that King sexually abused him.
His day in court
When Slade King entered his guilty plea today in the 350th District Court, he simply replied "Uh, guilty," when addressed by Judge Wheeler. King did not appear to have any remorse or emotion cross his face, and all of his answers to Wheeler were curt and to the point.
Judge Wheeler made a surprising modification to the open plea, however, as he ruled that King would waive his right to an appeal. Additionally, Wheeler noted that there will be a pre-sentence investigation, known as a PSI.
A typical PSI can take around 45 days, so sentencing will be scheduled after that time. Judge Wheeler also ruled that the sentencing will take one day in the 350th, instead of taking four to five days if it were a jury trial.
The Reporter-News will be in court when that sentencing hearing is scheduled to be held in about 45 days. Check back for every detail of this developing case.
'Sex offender for life'
According to Assistant District Attorney Erin Stamey, King faces 2-20 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. Judge Wheeler will decide the punishment for this the second-degree felony of sexual assault of a child. As part of the guilty plea, Stamey noted that “he (King) would have to register as a sex offender for life.”
It remains to be seen if there are more victims who will come forward.
If you wish to report any abuse to DFPS, whether by name or anonymously, please call 1-800-252-5400, or visit the website here.
All suspects are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
Tips to protect your children from online predators
Reporter-News spoke with Sergeant Mike Moschetto of the Abilene Police Department's Special Investigations Bureau to find out some tips to protect your children from online predators.
If possible, delay giving your child a smartphone and do not allow them to use social media.
Use Mobile Device Manager software to access and monitor their phones (paid service, for example; Bark).
Use Life 360 to monitor their current and location history. Note: kids can work around this by turning their phones to airplane mode or disabling location services.
If you allow them to have social media accounts, the parent should also get an account and be friends with their child in the app.
Parents should routinely go into their child's phone and manually look through their texts, social media apps, and pictures. Please keep in mind the hidden folders.
Children should not use Snapchat or TikTok. These can be extremely harmful to kids.
Have conversations with your children about taking selfies and sharing them. Those pictures have metadata and backgrounds that give information about your child to the public.
Limit the amount of screen time on a cellphone. Utilize the screen time option to limit when the phone can be used for social media. Outside the screen time window, you can set parameters to allow for phone calls from only authorized numbers.
In 2023 alone, the Abilene Police Department Cyber Crimes Unit investigated 146 cases involving Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). Many of those uploads were self-produced by a child without solicitation.
Do not allow a child to have their phone in their bedroom overnight.
Disabling the wi-fi in the household overnight can discourage the use of electronic devices.
A child should not expect privacy if they are posting on social media with thousands of others including online predators.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Former CPS investigator pleads guilty to child sexual assault
