A man who once worked as a security guard for Texarkana, Texas, Independent School District pleaded guilty to promoting prostitution of a person under 18.
Michael Carroll James, 43, was in court Monday afternoon with Texarkana lawyer Shorty Barrett for a pretrial hearing before 202nd District Judge John Tidwell. Barrett announced that James had agreed to plead guilty.
First Assistant District Attorney Mike Shepherd said the agreement between the defense and state includes a 10-year term of felony probation with a fine to be set by the court.
Tidwell accepted James' guilty plea but said he will not decide whether to accept the plea agreement until after the Bowie County Community Supervision and Corrections Department has completed a presentence investigation report for the court. Tidwell scheduled James to return to court Dec. 3. Assistant District Attorney Katie Carter said the state has discussed the offer of probation with the victim and his family, and they are in agreement with it.
James had resigned his position with TISD several weeks before the mother of a 14-year-old boy filed a report with Texarkana, Texas, police in July 2017. The boy allegedly disclosed that James asked him if he would like to make money on a rainy day, to which the boy replied, "yes," according to a probable cause affidavit used to create the following account.
The boy reported that James offered to pay him a minimum of $35 in exchange for sexual activity.
James allegedly began rubbing the boy's back while the two of them were seated in James' car, and when the boy moved away from him James allegedly said, "You got to get used to me touching you."
The boy said he told James he changed his mind about making extra money and asked him to take him home.
According to the affidavit, the boy's mother told police James is a family friend. TISD Spokeswoman Tina Veal Gooch said in an interview with the Gazette in 2017 that James worked as a security guard for TISD from Sept. 1, 2005, until July 11, two weeks before he allegedly solicited the teen. Gooch said James resigned his position to accept a job elsewhere.
James is free on a $10,000 personal recognizance bond.