An East Texas school district trustee was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material that included images of a 3-year-old family member.
Jerry James Svatek Jr., 61, was arrested in June 2025 and charged with possession of child pornography featuring a victim younger than 10 years of age.
At the time, Svatek was president of the board of trustees of Boling Independent School District, a three-school district in Wharton County, southwest of Houston.
Svatek had been an elected school board trustee in Boling ISD for more than 12 years and ran unopposed for re-election in 2016, 2020, and 2024. He resigned from the board following his arrest.
In July 2025, a federal grand jury indicted Svatek on one count each of sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child pornography, the legal term used for child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Svatek pleaded guilty in December 2025.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, authorities identified Svatek in 2025 when conducting undercover investigations into an online forum known as FetLife—a social networking platform designed for people interested in “alternative sexual lifestyles.”
Svatek described himself on the site as a “naughty married man looking for very naughty fun,” and used the names “HtownPlaything” and “BadHoustonDad,” a criminal complaint revealed [WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT].
During undercover conversations, Svatek shared multiple images taken from videos of himself with his 3-year-old granddaughter.
“I love showing off my granddaughter to nasty pervs. Love that they want to do naughty things to her,” Svatek messaged.
Svatek discussed his desire to have sex with prepubescent minors and admitted to multiple sexual contacts with the girl.
Following Svatek’s arrest, a forensic examination of his cell phone revealed more than 150 videos of child sexual abuse material depicting prepubescent victims as young as six months of age engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Svatek admitted to creating videos of the girl in the bathtub and distributing still images on FetLife.
On June 26, U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein Jr. sentenced Svatek to a total of 480 months in prison. Svatek was also ordered to pay $78,500 in restitution.
Assuming he completes his prison term, Svatek will spend the rest of his life on supervised release, have restricted access to children and the internet, and be ordered to register as a sex offender.
Svatek remains in a federal detention center in Houston pending transfer to a permanent prison facility.
He has appealed the sentence.
In just the past few years, hundreds of Texas school employees and officials have been accused of sex crimes involving children—including possession, distribution, and production of child sex abuse material.
