Former CPS investigator sentenced after pleading guilty to child sexual molestation

It was an emotionally charged day in court. Both the victim and his mother testified at the hearing for a former Child Protective Services investigator during a sentencing hearing.

On March 1, Slade Dean King of Abilene pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a child, and at that time, 350th District Judge Thomas Wheeler ruled that King had no right to appeal.

On Friday, 104th District Judge Jeff Propst delivered his sentence before an emotionless and rigid King.

The judge sentenced King to 10 years in prison after defense attorney Jacob Blizzard unsuccessfully argued for probation. It was Propst’s decision alone and there was no jury present.

King must also register as a sex offender for life. The second-degree felony is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Former CPS investigator sentenced after pleading guilty to child sexual molestation

Passed off as a girl

King was a CPS investigator for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services for over nine years.

However, in April 2022, according to court documents, he admitted to luring a 15-year-old victim to his apartment where he sexually abused her.

The court first heard from Richard Perez, a cybercrime investigator with the Abilene Police Department, who testified that he found many illegal photos on King’s phone of men of questionable ages, likely between 15 and 19 years old.

Perez also testified that he found a text message dated May 29, 2019, in which King’s former roommate said that some men in the house were looking for a girl for a sexual encounter.

The girl was an adult former colleague of King’s, but this text message confirmed the claim that King had posed as a girl online to lure the victim to his apartment.

It was then pointed out that every time the victim in the case asked King whether he was a man or a woman, King dodged the question and instead sent ambiguous illegal photos.

“As if my childhood had abandoned me”

The victim took the stand Friday to testify against King.

Despite bail conditions, which include no social media messages or contact with the victim, he noted King had recently contacted him in January.

When the victim mentioned this contact, it was one of the few times King showed any emotion. Anger crossed his face and he frowned.

The victim went on to explain how the sexual assault had negatively impacted him over the past few years.

“It’s like my childhood has left me,” he said.

The entire time, King sat emotionless.

“predator”

When the victim’s mother took the stand, King stared blankly at her as she made damaging statements against him and asked the judge for a prison sentence of at least 10 years.

“I don’t know this man, but I don’t see any remorse,” she said.

“I don’t want anyone else in our community to have to go through what he had to go through,” she said of her child.

“We have to protect our children,” she told the judge.

There should be no confusion, she testified. Her son was 15 years old and looked 15 at the time of the sexual assault.

“This behavior is predatory,” she said.

During her testimony, the victim’s mother never once lost her calm, composed demeanor.

When it came time for the defense attorney to question her, the victim’s mother stood firm against repeated attempts to blame the victim.

When Blizzard asked about a possible suspended sentence, the victim’s mother stood firm.

“Why are you asking me if there shouldn’t be a punishment?” she said.

Blizzard indicated that he was allowed to ask the questions.

The victim’s mother tearfully responded that a prison sentence would hopefully prevent “someone else from having to suffer the same hardship and pain.”

Terminated by CPS

The only person to testify on King’s behalf was his former CPS worker Amy Rogers, who tried to paint a picture of a stoic King who rarely showed emotion.

While Rogers told the judge that there were no complaints against King or inappropriate behavior with CPS, she said she was “at the same time extremely shocked and disappointed” when she learned of the sexual assault.

Rogers appeared to downplay the attack.

It was a “clear misjudgment,” she testified, without looking in the direction of the victim’s family sitting in the courtroom.

When it was Assistant District Attorney Erin Stamey’s turn to question Rogers, Stamey quickly asked why King had been fired from CPS.

Rogers testified about the circumstances surrounding his termination. King had investigated a case but failed to ask the mother of a child specific questions about her mental health at the time.

King then closed the case and just a few months later the mother killed the child in question. CPS then terminated King.

This was before allegations of sexual assault surfaced.

Stamey further questioned Rogers about the co-worker who Stamey claimed King impersonated to lure the victim to his apartment.

Stamey stressed that Rogers didn’t know that King “had a more predatory nature than one would have thought.”

“Whoever is out there and wants to”

In a surprising turn of events, King took the stand Friday. He sat rigid during his testimony, with little to no emotion crossing his face.

“People misjudged that I was a man,” said King, who has dodged the question of whether he was a woman or a man in online communications.

He told the judge that the gay community in Texas is a hookup culture.

At this point, Blizzard tried to shift some of the blame from King by asking him what type of partner he preferred, what age and what race?

King said calmly, “I wouldn’t say it’s a specific type, no. No age, no race. Whoever is out there and willing to do this.”

His testimony faltered when he contradicted the victim’s statements on the witness stand.

“I can’t remember,” King said when asked if he ever sent a message to the victim’s boyfriend after the sexual assault.

King testified that he sometimes messaged 20 or more strangers at the same time to secure a sexual encounter.

However, when it was Stamey’s turn to question King, things got heated.

She asked King if he was blaming the victim and if he was “trying to hide the fact that you were a man.”

“You lied,” she told King.

“I changed my story at the law enforcement center,” he replied.

“It’s a predator!”

When it came time for closing arguments, Blizzard tried to shift the blame from King to the victim.

“He didn’t get what he expected,” Blizzard said.

Blizzard told the judge that King “could become an institutionalized criminal” if he received a prison sentence instead of probation.

He said King was “not nearly as guilty as others who received parole.”

When it was Stamey’s turn to address the judge, she left little room for doubt.

“It’s pretty clear that King has no remorse. He blames the victim!” she said.

She also noted that regardless of the circumstances of the sexual assault, “the law does not allow a 15-year-old to consent. That’s a predator!”

She asked the judge to give King a significant prison sentence – for the good of the victim, “for his family, for the protection of this community.”

When the judge announced King’s 10-year sentence, the only sounds in the courtroom were the sobs of the victim’s mother.

To report any abuse to DFPS, by name or anonymously, call 1-800-252-5400 or visit the website here.

Tips to protect your children from online predators

Sergeant. Mike Moschetto of the Abilene Police Department’s Special Investigations Bureau gave parents tips on how to protect their children from online predators.

If possible, avoid giving your child a smartphone or allowing them to use social media.
Use Mobile Device Manager software to access and monitor their phones (paid service, e.g. Bark).
Use Life 360 to monitor current location and location history. Note that children can work around this problem by putting their phones on airplane mode or turning off location services.
If you allow them to have social media accounts, you should also set up an account and be friends with your child on the app.
Parents should routinely access their child’s phone and manually review their child’s texts, social media apps, and pictures. Think about hidden folders.
Children should not use Snapchat or TikTok. These can be extremely harmful to children.
Discuss taking and sharing selfies with your children. These images contain metadata and background information that provides the public with information about your child.
Limit screen time on a cell phone. Use the Screen Time option to limit the time the phone can be used for social media. Outside the screen time window, you can set parameters to only allow phone calls from authorized numbers.
In 2023 alone, the APD Cyber Crimes Unit investigated 146 cases involving child sexual abuse material. Many of these uploads were created by a child themselves without any prompting.
Don’t allow your child to have their phone in the bedroom overnight.
Disabling household Wi-Fi overnight can prevent the use of electronic devices.
A child should have no expectation of privacy when posting on social media with thousands of others, including online predators.

Passed off as a girl

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