Accused Grapevine child predator back in custody, faces federal child abuse charge

Jan. 27--FORT WORTH -- A man who had been out on bond after being arrested three times in two months -- including one case where he's accused of sexually abusing a 10-year-old boy at Grapevine's REC facility -- was back in jail Monday on a federal charge, Grapevine police said.

Chansellor Hill, 24, of Grapevine, was taken into custody Sunday and faces a federal charge of exploitation of a child.

Hill was in the Grapevine Jail on Sunday, and transferred to federal custody Monday morning.

Details of the federal charge were not immediately available on Monday, but Hill also faces state charges of the sexual abuse of a child under 14, indecent exposure and the display of harmful material to a minor.

In the sexual abuse case, Hill is accused of sexually assaulting the boy repeatedly over the course of six months. The boy told Grapevine police Hill, who is 6 feet 4 inches tall and 260 pounds, trapped him in a family bathroom, sexually assaulted him and took pictures on his cellphone between May and October 2019, according to an arrest warrant obtained by WFAA-TV.

The alleged abuse stopped when Hill told a REC employee and later confessed to Grapevine police, according to the warrant.

Hill was arrested in October and later released on $50,000 bond.

But days later, the Grapevine man was arrested again on charges of indecent exposure near a playground at CJ Hutchings Park in Grapevine. No children were around at that time. His bail was set at $2,500 on that charge.

Hill was arrested a third time in December after a Silver Lake Elementary School student told Grapevine police that Hill showed him photograph of his genitals on a cellphone in April 2018, according to WFAA-TV.

Initially, the child's father did not want to press charges, but that parent later changed his mind, Grapevine police said.

Hill's trial on the state charges is pending. He was ordered to stay away from the city recreation facility, schools, the library and the convention center while awaiting trial.

Parents concerned about the suspect being out of jail on bond held a community meeting on Saturday.

In response, Gov. Greg Abbott said the Texas state legislature will consider bail reform proposals.

"My office will look into this tragedy," Abbott said on Twitter. "We will add this to our bail reform proposals next session. We must keep dangerous criminals off the streets."

Domingo Ramirez Jr.

817-390-7763

Star-Telegram breaking news reporter Domingo Ramirez Jr. has been in journalism for more than 35 years. It's the job he has loved from day one.

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