AUSTIN MAN SENTENCED TO EIGHT YEARS FOR ONLINE SEX CHARGE
One of four suspected child predators arrested in Brenham four years ago in a sting operation has been sentenced to prison time.
(Texas Attorney General Office)
36-year-old Austin Bishop of Austin was sentenced Thursday to eight years in prison, after his probation was adjudicated. He was initially placed on 10 years’ probation in 2016 for the offense.
As part of his sentence, Bishop will also have to pay a $1,500 fine and a $515 sex offender fee.
Bishop was one of four people charged with Online Solicitation of a Minor—Sexual Contact, after they were arrested following an operation conducted by Brenham police and the Texas Attorney General’s Office.
The three others arrested in the operation were 26-year-old Timmy Varela of Bellville, 28-year-old Montreyle Devon McCormick of Kennedale, and 39-year-old Chad Christian Clift of College Station.
McCormick was sentenced in November to three years in prison, after his probation was adjudicated. Varela and Clift remain on probation.
The Attorney General’s Office Child Exploitation Unit performed the operation—with Brenham police—targeting predators who were using the internet to solicit minors, then travelling to meet up with the minors and commit sex acts.