‘Predator Poacher’ credited for Trinity County child porn, solicitation arrest

TRINITY, Texas (KTRE) - A man has been charged in Trinity County for crimes against children.

Paul Edward Leverett, 48, was arrested on July 28 and charged with two counts of online solicitation of a minor under 14, and two counts of possession of child pornography.

According to the probable cause affidavit, Trinity County 911 received a call from a member of a group called “Predator Poachers,” who told dispatch that they were at the home of Leverett and that he had admitted to having child pornography on his cell phone.

When the sheriff’s investigator arrived at the home, the member of the group said they had been posing as a 13-year-old girl and communicating with Leverett. They provided the lewd messages to the investigator, including messages wherein Leverett asks the girl her age, which she said was 13.

Leverett agreed to speak with the investigator after she read him his Miranda warning, the affidavit states. He said that he had met the person he thought was a young teenage girl on Facebook and began talking to her. He admitted to sending her a lewd picture of himself, as well as a video, though he said sending her the video was accidental.

Leverett was placed into custody and taken to the Trinity County Jail. When they arrived, he was further questioned, according to the affidavit. At that time he was asked if he had been talking to anyone else, and he admitted that there was an 11-year-old girl he had been messaging with. She and Leverett exchanged inappropriate videos, the affidavit states, and he sent her lewd picture requests, as well, which was all discovered after he gave written consent for his phone to be searched by the investigator.

In addition to the exchanges with the minors, he also used WhatsApp to purchase pornographic videos of 13 year olds, and these pictures and videos of juvenile children were still on the phone, the affidavit said.