MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas — A former Port Neches Fire Department fire chief is now facing more criminal charges out of a different county after being terminated from the department in 2021.
Paul Edward Nelson, 57, was arrested at his Jefferson County home in January 2021 and later charged with two counts of promotion and possession of child pornography.
Kayleigh Date, a spokesperson for the Texas Attorney General's office, previously told 12News the investigation started with a tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Nelson was accused of sending illegal images over social media accounts. During a search warrant, investigators seized numerous devices that were turned over to the digital forensics team for review.
He posted a $50,000 bond the morning after his arrest.
Nelson was also terminated from the Port Neches Fire Department the day following his arrest. He later relocated to Montgomery County.
On Monday Oct. 2, 2023, Montgomery County Pct. 3 Constable Ryan Gable's Criminal Investigations Division executed an arrest warrant and a residential search warrant of Nelson's home in Conroe.
Nelson actively chatted with a child under 14 years of age in The Woodlands, according to a news release from the office of Constable Ryan Gable.
Officials say Nelson sent and requested explicit photos of child sexual assault material to the victim.
During the course of the investigation, detectives developed information that led to two arrest warrants for promotion of child pornography and online solicitation of a minor, according to the release.
Nelson was booked in the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Jail on a $200,000 bond.
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