Paxton’s prosecutors offered a man charged with child sex abuse a misdemeanor deal with one day in jail

What happened

Hoffman was arrested in 2022. Paxton’s office took over the prosecution after the local district attorney recused himself. ^{02 01}

His June 2025 trial ended in a mistrial, with seven of 12 jurors saying the evidence proved guilt. ^{03 01}

About 10 months later, Paxton’s prosecutors offered to drop the felony charge in exchange for guilty pleas to two misdemeanors, with credit for one day already served and no sex-offender registration. In a signed judicial confession, Hoffman admitted touching the boy’s genitals “with the intent to arouse or gratify my sexual desire.” ^{01 02}

Hoffman’s defense attorney, Gerry Morris, ⁰¹ also represented Nate Paul, the donor at the center of Paxton’s impeachment, at Paul’s 2025 federal sentencing. ⁰⁶ Morris has said he never communicated with Paxton about the Hoffman case. ⁰⁷

At an April 16, 2026 hearing, visiting Judge Roy Sparkman said, “One day. Seriously?” At sentencing on April 27, after the boy’s mother told the court she no longer agreed, the judge set the sentence at 60 days and required Hoffman to surrender his law license for five years. The judge said he saw a “pattern” in how Paxton’s office settled cases after mistrials. ⁰¹

Hoffman was released on May 25, 2026, after serving 29 days. ⁰³ When asked about the case on camera in June 2026, Paxton did not respond. ⁰⁴

On July 2, 2026, Paxton’s office refused a public-records request for its internal memos, emails and texts about the Hoffman deal. ⁰⁵

Why it matters

Paxton campaigns as a protector of children and has attacked local prosecutors as soft on crime. In this case his own office offered one day in jail to a man who confessed to sexually touching a child, and the presiding judge, Republican lawmakers and the local district attorney questioned the deal. ⁰¹

What the sources show

The Texas Tribune reported evidentiary problems in the case: a police officer rather than a forensic interviewer questioned the child, and the boy recanted part of his testimony. Experts said such cases are often difficult to prosecute. ⁰¹ Hoffman’s confession and the sentence are part of the court record. ^{01 02}