TEXAS
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
BY DEANNA BOYD
dboyd@star-telegram.com
Days into his trial on charges that he molested a teenage church member more than a decade ago, the former pastor of Cowboy Way Church in Alvarado pleaded guilty Monday to indecency with a child in exchange for seven years’ deferred adjudication probation.
Under the sentence, if Dan William Haby Jr. abides by the terms of his probation, the case will be dismissed with no conviction on his record.
If he violates probation, he can be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in prison.
Either way, Haby is now required to register as a sex offender for life.
Afterward, the victim, now 31, said Haby’s plea gave him a “freedom that I haven’t had in 16 years.”
“It forced him to tell everyone that he’s guilty and admit to what’s he done, and that is a freedom for me not to have to carry the burden of what’s been 16 years of a lie,” the victim said. “I pray that he finds forgiveness and that he seeks the healing … and the counseling he needs to get better.”
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