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'I knew it was wrong ... he's 12 and I'm 25,' Grapevine man said after sex abuse arrest

Fort Worth Star-Telegram - 1/28/2020

Jan. 28--FORT WORTH -- A Grapevine man who told police his sexual abuse of a young boy was "pretty messed up" took photographs and video of the child naked in a recreation center bathroom in October, court documents say.

The photographs showed the naked boy sitting on a counter, according to a federal complaint.

The photographs and videos were the basis for a federal warrant for Chansellor Hill of Grapevine, who was taken into custody on Sunday by Grapevine police, according to the complaint obtained by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Tuesday.

Hill was taken to the Grapevine Jail and transferred to federal authorities on Monday. At a Monday detention hearing, Hill, 25, was ordered to remain in federal custody.

He faces a federal charge of sexual exploitation of a child.

The Grapevine man's arrest came after he was released from jail after being arrested three times on state charges in two months, including one case where he's accused of sexually abusing the same boy at Grapevine's REC facility, 1175 Municipal Way, between May and October.

The federal complaint written by Christopher Thompson, a special agent of the FBI, gave this account:

Hill told Grapevine detectives in October that he and the boy, who authorities said was 11 years old, entered the family bathroom at the recreational center by the pool.

He admitted to committing a sex act on the boy, and he added that it had occurred 10 to 20 times from May 2019 to October 2019.

Hill also confirmed that he took photos of the naked boy using his Apple iPhone at the restroom on several occasions. That led to him being charged with a federal crime because he was using a phone that had been transported in interstate commerce, according to the complaint.

Hill told Grapevine police Detective Peter Soltero, "I knew it was wrong ... he's 12 and I am 25. It's pretty messed up," according to the federal complaint.

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 assaulting the boy repeatedly over the course of six months in 2019. The boy is the same one in the federal charge.

The Grapevine man also is accused of exposing himself in October near a playground at CJ Hutchings Park in Grapevine. No children were around at that time.

Hill was arrested again 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 an arrest warrant obtained by WFAA-TV.

Hill's trial on the state charges is pending.

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."

This report contains information from Star-Telegram archives.

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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