Texas pastor pleads guilty to enhanced child pornography charge after 100K+ images found on his computer

ROUND ROCK, Texas – A Round Rock pastor pleaded guilty Tuesday to an enhanced charge of possession of child pornography.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Texas reported that David Lloyd Walther, 57, knowingly searched for, downloaded, distributed and possessed child sexual abuse material, including child pornography—some of which depicted prepubescent minors.

Walther was the pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Round Rock.

Federal authorities say Walther used BitTorrent, a peer-to-peer file-sharing network to commit the crimes.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, two large computer hard drives were located and found to contain more than 100,000 images and more than 5,000 videos of child sexual abuse material during a search of Walther’s home and vehicle in Nov. 2022.

Walther faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 if he’s convicted. A federal district court judge will determine his sentence.

The Round Rock Police Department and FBI San Antonio Division’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force are investigating the case with additional resources from the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office and the Williamson County Children’s Advocacy Center.