WHARTON COUNTY, Texas – Court documents reveal disturbing allegations against the now-former president of the Boling ISD board of trustees.
Jerry James Svatek Jr. was arrested by Texas DPS on June 17 on a possession of child pornography charge.
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The Wharton County Sheriff’s Office says Svatek bonded out of jail the next day, but was arrested again on federal charges on June 19. He remains in federal custody. Homeland Security Investigations also confirms a 4-year-old victim of online sexual exploitation was rescued in connection to the investigation.
Court documents allege Svatek’s arrest comes after a detective at a North Carolina police department was conducting an undercover online investigation into groups on two sexually-related adult websites.
The detective had posted a message on sites which was responded to by a person with the username “Badhoustondad” and “HTownPlaything.”
The detective was able to find out the user lived in Wharton.
While investigating the profile, the detective was added to other chats where he saw the user post multiple pornographic videos and photos of children who appeared under the age of 10, according to the court documents.
The undercover detective also engaged in online conversations with the profile who made disturbing statements about the videos and photos.
Authorities were able to get the IP address of the user and it came back to Svatek.
On June 17, Svatek was pulled over during a traffic stop where he confirmed to law enforcement who he was, his address, and that he was the president of the Boling ISD board of trustees.
He also allegedly admitted to receiving child porn, that he was the man behind “Badhoustondad” and “HTownPlaything”, and that he recognized the conversations that the undercover detective had with him, among other things, according to the court documents.
Authorities also found over 100 videos of child porn on his phone in the recently deleted photo album, the documents allege.
A detention hearing for Svatek has been scheduled for June 25.
Boling ISD Superintendent Keith Jedlicka released a statement to KPRC 2, confirming Svatek resigned as the board president on June 18.
“Jerry Svatek resigned from the Boling ISD Board of Trustees on June 18, 2025. Effective immediately upon receipt he ceased all official duties and is no longer affiliated with the district in any capacity. Our focus remains on supporting our students, staff, and school community,” the statement reads.