A former pastor in Texas pleaded guilty in federal court this Tuesday to an “enhanced charge of possession of child pornography,” according to a press release from the Department of Justice.
David Lloyd Walther, 57, knowingly searched for, downloaded, distributed and possessed child sexual abuse material, including child pornography using a peer-to-peer file sharing network, according to the DOJ. Some of the images were of pre-pubescent children.
Walther was the pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Round Rock. According to reports, it was his 18th year as a pastor at the church before he was arrested and removed from his role.
Investigators also found that some of the images were dowloaded while he was at the church. The New York Post reported that he had a file titled “BDSM” that contained images of prepubescent children tied up with ropes and mouth restraints, forcing them into sexually suggestive poses and acts.
Another filed called “Zoo,” contained a bestiality video involving a dog and a female toddler “likely less than three years old.”
Investigators seized computers from his home that contained over 100,000 images and more than 5,000 videos of child sex abuse material.
Court documents state that Walther immediately admitted his guilt and said he had an “addiction” and would often “go through cycles of downloading and viewing pornography depicting both adults and minors,” and that when he viewed the material, “the children depicted were between 8 and 17 years old, either posing sexually or engaged in sex acts with adults or other children.”
He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.
The Round Rock Police Department revealed that Walther volunteered with the force as a chaplain for “several years until around 2012.”
Watch a report on the story below:
