A former US Army soldier has been convicted of nine federal offences linked to the sexual abuse and exploitation of two minors in Waco, Texas.
Jordan Anthony Pearce, 30, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was found guilty by a federal jury on 30 September following a trial in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas.
The case centred on abuse which prosecutors said began at Pearce’s home at Fort Hood, where one victim was 11 years old. She later reported the abuse to a friend, school officials and law enforcement.
During a forensic interview at the Bell County Child Advocacy Centre in April 2023, the girl told investigators that Pearce had warned her that nobody would believe her if she spoke about what had happened.
Former Fort Hood soldier convicted on nine counts
A second minor was subsequently interviewed at the centre. She described being sexually abused by Pearce at his home and at other locations between the ages of 13 and 16, according to evidence presented at trial.
Investigators found text messages involving Pearce on the second victim’s mobile phone, along with a sexually explicit video that prosecutors said he had asked her to send.
Pearce was indicted on 8 April 2025 and arrested on 30 May. A second superseding indictment charged him with 10 offences, including abusive sexual contact, sexual abuse of a minor, production of child sexual abuse material, distribution of visual depictions of sexual activity involving a minor and enticement of a minor.
The jury convicted Pearce on nine counts and acquitted him of one charge of transporting a minor.
The investigation was conducted by the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division. Assistant US attorneys Mary Kucera and Mark Frazier prosecuted the case, with support from Donna Myrdahl, Brenda Wright and Marci’a Wilson.
Federal prosecutors said the case was brought under Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 to co-ordinate efforts to investigate and prosecute child sexual exploitation and abuse.
