TEXARKANA, Texas–A man who allegedly brought his 6-year-old with him when he drove to meet someone for sex he thought was a 16-year-old, has been indicted by a Bowie County grand jury for multiple felonies.
James Clark Willis, 37, allegedly thought he was exchanging messages with a 16-year-old girl but was really chatting with an undercover police officer posing as a teen, according to a probable cause affidavit. Willis allegedly agreed to exchange cash and methamphetamine in exchange for sexual contact on Aug. 3 last year.
Willis allegedly arranged to meet the officer posing as a teen after telling her he wanted her to perform a strip tease. After getting out of his truck and approaching a carport door as he’d been instructed, Willis was met by uniformed officers. Willis struggled with the lawmen before being tackled to the ground and handcuffed.
Willis’s 6-year-old daughter was found in the truck’s back seat and just over a gram of meth was allegedly recovered from his pocket.
A grand jury formally indicted Willis Thursday for online solicitation of a minor, child endangerment and possession of a controlled substance. If convicted of the solicitation or drug possession charges, Willis faces two to 20 years on each count. If found guilty of child endangerment, he could receive six months to two years in a state jail.
Willis is currently free on bonds totaling more than $150,000, jail records show.
