Ryan Don Ivy was a youth minister at Bluff Dale Baptist Church and an employee at Bluff Dale Independent School District was accused of online solicitation involving text messages he sent to a 13-year-old middle school student. Incredibly, despite being shown the text messages he sent including text acknowledging he could go to jail for what he was doing, eleven of twelve juries wanted to acquit him. One juror, thankfully, held firm and the trial ended in a mistrial.
The prosecutor negotiated a plea in which Ivy pleaded guilty to online harassment, a misdemeanor. He explained that in Texas law, sending sexual messages to a child is legal. It only is a crime if they can prove your intent behind sending sexual messages is to meet up with the child to molest them.
He was sentenced to 180 days in jail suspended, two years probation, and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and court costs. He was also ordered to perform 60 hours of community service and instructed to not have any electronic communications with individuals under the age of 17.
- The Dublin Citizen: Youth Minister charged with solicitation of minor
- Beneath the Surface News: Former Bluff Dale youth minister pleads guilty to online harassment in misdemeanor plea deal.
- Beneath the Surface News: District Attorney Alan Nash talks reason behind Ivy’s plea agreement.
