Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico is facing criticism after the family of a child sex abuse victim, whose case Talarico invoked at a press conference, stated they had not spoken to him or his team and are "tired of being used" in the election.

Talarico held a news conference on July 9 outside the office of his opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, accusing Paxton of brokering an "Epstein-style sweetheart deal" for former Waco attorney Adam Hoffman, who was charged with continuous sexual abuse of a young child.

When asked if his team had personally spoken with the victim's family, Talarico stated, "Our team has been in contact." However, Melissa Dieterich, a spokesperson for the family, publicly refuted this on Facebook, stating, "We have not given any statement to Talarico. We have not spoke to him."

Dieterich added that the family is "tired of being used in this election" and "tired of lies being told by both Paxton & Talarico, tired of the divide and just tired." In a subsequent comment, she clarified, "someone said they have spoke to the victims (sic) mom and this and that and it isn’t true. That isn’t cool."

A spokesperson for Talarico's campaign, JT Ennis, told Fox News Digital that the campaign "facilitated outreach to offer our support and ensure the family has a way to get in touch at any time, for any reason." Ennis noted that "elected officials on both sides of the aisle have called out this plea deal," as has the judge presiding over the case.

Paxton's office negotiated a plea agreement where Hoffman pleaded guilty to indecent assault and displaying harmful material to a minor. He was sentenced to 60 days in jail and served 29. The deal followed a mistrial in 2025 when a jury could not reach a unanimous decision. Assistant attorneys general in Paxton's office have described the deal as a "difficult decision" made "entirely in the best interest of the child involved."

According to Fox 44, the victim's mother initially agreed to the plea but later changed her mind, accusing the judge, police, and Paxton of having "bent the system" and calling the deal "corruption."

At his press conference, Talarico drew parallels between Hoffman's plea deal and the prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein. He also stated that his request for the "Hoffman files" was denied by Paxton's office. Talarico claimed that "the victim’s mother called this a corrupt deal" and that "Ken Paxton should have to answer questions about this sweetheart deal."

A spokesperson for Paxton’s campaign told Spectrum News that Talarico "cares more about turning a child victim into a political pawn than the truth" and that Talarico is "intentionally re-traumatizing the child victim for personal gain" by bringing up the case.

Dieterich, in a separate post, commented on the need for change in how court systems handle victims, stating, "We are hoping to change laws when the legislators are back in session so this doesn’t happen to another victim!"