An East Texas school board president and longtime trustee was arrested for possessing child sexual abuse material following a joint investigation by federal, state, and local authorities.
Jerry James Svatek Jr., 59, was arrested Tuesday and charged with possession of child pornography featuring a victim younger than 10 years of age.
Svatek is the president of the board of trustees of Boling Independent School District, a three-school district in Wharton County southwest of Houston.
Svatek has been an elected school board trustee in Boling ISD for more than 12 years. He ran for re-election unopposed in 2016, 2020, and 2024.
Boling ISD Superintendent Keith Jedlicka issued a statement following Svatek’s arrest:
We are aware of the arrest of our school board president. This is a legal matter currently under investigation, and due to the lack of detailed information, it would be inappropriate for the district to comment further at this time. Our focus remains on supporting our students, staff, and school community.
Svatek was booked into the Wharton County Jail on June 17 and is being held on a $200,000 bond.
The arrest was a joint effort led by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and assisted by the Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Rangers, and the Wharton County Sheriff’s Office.
Possession of child pornography is a felony offense. The degree depends on several factors, including the age of the abuse victims depicted, the number of images the suspect possessed, and whether the suspect has been previously convicted of the crime.
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.
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