The Texas pastor who was caught with more than 100,000 images of child pornography and bestiality faces 20 years in prison if convicted.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas reported Thursday that David Lloyd Walther, 57, downloaded hundreds of thousands of photos and more than 5,000 videos of child abuse.
At the time of his arrest, Walther, a Georgetown resident, was pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Round Rock.
In the press release released this Thursday, the authorities indicated that the pervert with knowledge of what he was doing downloaded, distributed and possessed sexually explicit content. In part of the files, pre-adolescent minors were exposed.
The criminal used the BitTorrent program to exchange files between peers. In a search of Walther’s residence and his vehicle in November 2022, agents seized two computers containing the illegal content.
Walther, who admitted to the facts at the time of his arrest, even downloaded content from the church where he had been preaching for some 18 years.
The arrest report reviewed by local media details that one of the files identified as “BDSM” contained photos of pre-adolescent minors tied up with ropes and with their mouths covered while they were forced to perform poses and sexual acts. Other material, named “Zoo”, contained a bestiality video involving a dog and an infant under three years of age.
The convict pleaded guilty Tuesday in Austin federal court to one increased count of possession of child pornography.
Walther faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine not to exceed $250,000. A judge will determine the sentence based on the sentencing guidelines and other legal factors.
The investigation was led by the Human Trafficking Team and the Child Exploitation Division of the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) in San Antonio with support from the Round Rock Police Department.
The arrest and prosecution of the alleged religious is linked to the national initiative “Project Safe Childhood” of the United States Department of Justice.
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