A Montgomery County jury convicted Patrick L. Sparks on two counts of possession of child pornography, and a judge sentenced him Wednesday, Aug. 12, to 12 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Sparks was sentenced in the 221st District Court after the jury found he intentionally possessed visual material depicting a child younger than 18 engaged in sexual conduct, according to the Montgomery County Police Reporter, citing court records.
The indictment described the material as a digital video approximately 34 seconds long depicting a girl who appeared to be 13 to 15 years old.
The charges carried an enhancement because Sparks had a prior felony conviction for aggravated robbery on May 8, 2012, in the 359th District Court of Montgomery County. That prior conviction elevated the offense from a third-degree felony to a second-degree felony, which carries a sentencing range of two to 20 years in prison under Texas law.
Twelve years. That falls in the middle of the enhanced range.
People convicted of child pornography offenses in Texas are required to register as sex offenders, typically for life. The investigating agency in the Sparks case has not been publicly identified.
The case is the latest in a series of child exploitation convictions in Montgomery County. In a separate case, registered sex offender Aaron Blair received a 30-year sentence in July after the Precinct 1 Constable's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force arrested him and pursued extradition to bring him back to Texas. In October 2025, Zachary David Johnson, 23, was sentenced to 24 years after a conviction on four counts of child pornography possession.
District Attorney Michael Holley, speaking in November 2025 after the Johnson sentencing, said the office would "continue to seek justice for victims and stand with law enforcement to expose those who target children."
The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office has not issued a statement specific to the Sparks verdict. The ICAC Task Force continues to investigate child exploitation cases across the county.
