AG Paxton’s Law Enforcement Round Up

April 1, 2022

HUMAN TRAFFICKING UNIT

In Smith County, Brandon Lee Mon Johnson pled guilty to continuous trafficking of persons and sexual assault of a child on February 28 in Smith County.  Johnson was sentenced to 40 years confinement in a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison.

CHILD EXPLOITATION UNIT

In Bexar County, Mel Alan Loeffler was arrested on March 3 on five counts of possession of child pornography. Loeffler provided a voluntary statement and confessed to downloading and viewing images and videos of child pornography.  He was then transported to the Bexar County Jail where he was booked without incident.  This case was received as a NCMEC CyberTipline Report.

In Bexar County, Rudy Jesse Garza was arrested on March 2 for one count of possession of child pornography.  Garza was transported to the Bexar County Jail where he was booked without incident and will appear before a magistrate.  This case was received as a NCMEC CyberTipline report.

In Brazos County, Wayne Marcus Silva was arrested on March 8 after being charged with three counts of possession of child pornography.  The 49 year-old Brazos County resident gave a full confession to posing as a 16-year-old male to communicate via social media with a 12-year-old female in Seattle.  Silva requested the child send him nude photographs and videos of herself.  Silva’s case will be presented to a Brazos County grand jury for five counts of possession of child pornography and sexual performance by a child.  This apprehension first came as a referral from the Seattle Washington Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Taskforce.

In Kerr County, Christopher Allen Cuellar pled guilty to three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, three counts of indecency with a child through sexual contact, and two counts of promotion of child pornography on March 1.  Cuellar is scheduled for a sentencing hearing in May.  This case was referred from a proactive undercover ICAC investigation from North Carolina.

In McLennan County, a Grand Jury returned a one-count indictment for possession of visual depictions of sexual activities by minors against Steven Rathbun on March 8.  This case was referred by the NCMEC CyberTipline report.

In Williamson County, Aidan Wix was sentenced to 10 years deferred adjudication on four counts of possession of child pornography on March 2.  He confessed that he downloaded and possessed multiple images of child pornography.  Wix was previously arrested on four counts of possession of child pornography.

To read about more arrests click here.