Source: texastribune.org 5/19/26
WACO — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is under fire for a plea deal his prosecutors offered last month to a Waco man charged with repeatedly sexually abusing a young boy.
The deal in the case, which Paxton’s office took over about three years ago after the locally elected district attorney recused himself, would have let the man plead guilty to two misdemeanors and serve a total of just one day in jail.
Now Paxton, locked in a heated primary to be the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, is facing criticism from political opponents who say his office was too lenient toward the man, who admitted that he molested the victim as part of the deal. This comes even as Paxton has built a reputation attacking local district attorneys for being too soft on crime.
“Predators who commit these crimes tend to …

It is important for us to be aware that even Attorneys General are criticized when their actions are perceived as helping registrants. That is why it is often difficult to persuade government officials to support actions that would help registrants and their families.