William Benjamin Woodward is a 62-year-old man who served as a pastor for the Baptist Church from 2009 to his arrest in April of 2021, was arrested for an accusation of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child. On June 14th he pleaded guilty to this charge and now Judge J. Christian Becerra of the 434th District Court in Fort Bend County has sentenced him to 10 years in prison. 

Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child is a first-degree felony, punishable by 5 to 99 years, or life, in prison and a fine up to $10,000. According to the Fort Bend Independent, on June 20, during Woodward’s hearing, his attorney argued that he was a candidate for deferred adjudication because he had no criminal history, had served his community as a church leader, and had immediately started sex offender therapy after the child, in this case, made an outcry of abuse.

Judge Becerra heard the argument but denied the deferred adjudication to Woodward, siding with the County’s Attorney’s Office, arguing that prison is the only punishment appropriate to Woodward’s crime.  Judge Becerra, then, sentenced Woodward to 10 years of prison.