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Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico is facing blowback after the family of a child sex abuse victim whose case he invoked publicly contradicted his claim and said they are "tired of being used" in the election.
Talarico held a news conference July 9 outside the office of his Senate opponent, Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, at which he accused Paxton of giving an "Epstein-style sweetheart deal" to former Waco, Texas, attorney Adam Hoffman.
Pressed by reporters on whether he had personally spoken to the victim’s family, Talarico answered, "Our team has been in contact."
However, Melissa Dieterich, a friend and spokesperson for the family, publicly disputed Talarico's assertion that his team had been in contact. Dieterich posted a "note from the victim's family" on Facebook, which said, "We have not given any statement to Talarico. We have not spoke to him."
Talarico, right, held a news conference July 9 outside the office of his Senate opponent, Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, left, at which he accused Paxton of giving an "Epstein-style sweetheart deal" to former Waco, Texas, attorney Adam Hoffman. (Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News via Getty Images; Alberto Silva Fernandez/Getty Images)
Dieterich further noted that the family is "tired of being used in this election" and "we are tired of lies being told by both Paxton & Talarico, tired of the divide and just tired."
In response to a comment on her post saying, "I have yet to see any politician NOT use this case as a talking piece," Dieterich wrote, "Right, but someone said they have spoke to the victims (sic) mom and this and that and it isn’t true."
"That isn’t cool," she wrote.
After Dieterich's post, JT Ennis, a spokesperson for Talarico's campaign, told Fox News Digital, "This family has gone through hell. They have experienced something unimaginable and deserve respect."
Ennis explained that Talarico's team "facilitated outreach to offer our support and ensure the family has a way to get in touch at any time, for any reason."
"Elected officials on both sides of the aisle have called out this plea deal," he said. "The judge presiding over the case has called out this plea deal. James is calling out this plea deal and demanding justice to stop this from happening again."
Hoffman originally was charged with continuous sexual abuse of a young child.
Earlier in 2026, Paxton’s office negotiated a plea agreement in which Hoffman pleaded guilty to indecent assault and displaying harmful material to a minor. He was sentenced to 60 days in the McLennan County Jail and was released after 29 days.
The deal was reached after a Waco, Texas, jury failed to reach a unanimous decision in 2025, resulting in a mistrial.
Assistant attorneys general in Paxton’s office have said the deal was a "difficult decision" and "was made entirely in the best interest of the child involved," according to Spectrum News.
The victim's mother initially agreed to the plea agreement but later changed her mind, Fox 44 reported. The outlet reported a statement from the mother accusing the judge, police and Paxton of having "bent the system."
"They made sure my son was in the room when they raised the plea deal — knowing he didn’t want to testify again — and they used that against him. They pushed the deal through with or without our approval. That is not justice. That is manipulation," the mother claimed, adding, "Paxton’s office gave Hoffman a sweetheart deal. That is corruption."
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Talarico held a general election kick-off event in Houston the day after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton won the GOP's Senate nomination. (Peter Pinedo/Fox News Digital)
In a separate post, Dieterich said that what that victim "went through is awful and the way our court systems handle victims in these cases needs to change." She added, "We are hoping to change laws when the legislators are back in session so this doesn’t happen to another victim!"
At his news conference, Talarico likened the plea deal to the prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein.
He said that his public information request to release the "Hoffman files" was denied by Paxton’s office. He emphasized that "the victim’s mother called this a corrupt deal," adding, "We should listen to the victim and their family."
"We don’t need any more pedophile protectors in our government," Talarico said at the press conference. "Adam Hoffman was a well-connected lawyer who abused an eight-year-old boy. He should be spending his life in prison … He didn’t even have to register as a sex offender in Texas; that’s how good this Epstein-style deal was."
"Ken Paxton should have to answer questions about this sweetheart deal," he emphasized.
Fox News Digital reached out to Paxton’s campaign for comment.
Texas Democratic Senate candidate and Texas state Rep. James Talarico speaks during the Hispanic Caucus at the Hilliard Center in Corpus Christi on Friday, June 26, 2026. (Katina Zentz/San Antonio Express-News via Getty Images)
A spokesperson for Paxton’s campaign told Spectrum News that his office has "already released information on this, but … the bottom line is that we stand with the child victim, who in this case did not wish to testify again and be forced into the same room as his abuser."
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The spokesperson added that "Talarico cares more about turning a child victim into a political pawn than the truth" and that "every time James Talarico chooses to bring this case up he is intentionally re-traumatizing the child victim for personal gain."
Fox News Digital reached out to Dieterich for additional comment.
Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
