Outrage Erupts: No Registry, Still A Lawyer

Businessperson in suit with hands cuffed together

A child sex abuser walked out of jail in under 30 days, kept his law license, and avoided the sex offender registry — and now the plea deal cut by Ken Paxton’s office is the biggest flashpoint in the Texas Senate race.

Story Snapshot

Prosecutors in Paxton’s office reduced a 25-years-to-life charge to two misdemeanors for a Waco attorney convicted of child sex crimes, resulting in just 60 days in jail.
Adam Hoffman was not required to register as a sex offender, and he has still not surrendered his law license as the plea deal required.
The local district attorney had to step aside from the case because he had given Hoffman legal advice before taking office, leaving Paxton’s team to handle the deal.
Paxton has dodged questions for months about the deal, and even some Republican lawmakers are demanding answers.

A Plea Deal That Shocked Both Parties

Adam Hoffman, a Waco attorney, faced a charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child — a crime that carries 25 years to life in prison. After a mistrial, prosecutors from Ken Paxton’s office stepped in and cut a deal. Hoffman pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors: indecent assault and displaying child pornography. He was sentenced to 60 days in jail and served fewer than 30. The victim’s mother said the system was “bent” to protect Hoffman instead of her son.^[5]

The McLennan County District Attorney’s Office had to remove itself from the case. The reason: District Attorney Josh Tetens had given Hoffman legal advice before taking office, creating a conflict of interest.^[4] That left Paxton’s office in charge. The defense attorney who represented Hoffman told Newsweek he never spoke with Paxton directly and saw no sign Paxton was personally involved.^[8] Still, the plea came from Paxton’s team — and Paxton has not explained why serious felony charges were dropped to misdemeanors.

No Registry, No License Surrender — And No Answers

Under the plea agreement, Hoffman was not required to register as a sex offender.^[2] He was required to surrender his Texas law license. As of the latest reports, he has not done so. The Texas State Bar confirmed Hoffman has not met the terms of his agreement with McLennan County.^[2] Texas State Rep. Pat Curry said Paxton’s office appeared to have “no idea” what was even in the plea agreement — a claim that raises serious questions about how closely the deal was supervised.^[13]

Paxton has refused to say whether Hoffman should be on the sex offender registry.^[11] Viral videos show him walking away from reporters asking basic questions about the case.^[12] Republican lawmakers called the deal “incomprehensible.” A judge did push back slightly — prosecutors first proposed “time served,” but the judge raised the sentence to 60 days.^[10] That small act of judicial pushback is the only check on record in this case.

The Senate Race and the Political Fallout

Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico has made the Hoffman case a centerpiece of his campaign against Paxton. Talarico says Paxton is unfit to serve in the U.S. Senate. He claims to lead in some polls and points to crossover voter support.^[1] But Texas has not elected a Democrat to statewide office since 1994, and Paxton crushed his Republican primary opponent by nearly 28 points with Donald Trump’s endorsement.^[22] That kind of base support is hard to overcome.

I'm thinking you're not paying attention. More Democrats voted in our primary for the first time in history and each party had a close Senate race. The Texas landscape is changing.

Beto lost by 3% and Talarico is polling higher than Beto and bringing in more donations than…

— TexasBlue (@MakeTexasBlue22) June 27, 2026

Talarico has his own baggage. He has made past statements on transgender issues — including calling God “non-binary” — that Paxton’s campaign uses to paint him as out of step with Texas values.^[1] Paxton’s team has leaned into that contrast hard. For conservative voters, the choice may come down to a flawed but Trump-backed fighter versus a Democrat whose own record raises eyebrows. The Hoffman case is a genuine scandal that deserves real answers. But Talarico’s ability to turn it into a winning issue depends on whether Texas voters trust him more than they distrust Paxton — and that remains a steep climb.