21-year-old New Caney man sentenced for possession of child pornography

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas - A 21-year-old man from New Caney was sentenced to prison after he was found guilty on child pornography charges in Montgomery County.

Nicholas Aaron Bates was convicted on four charges of Possession of Child Pornography and pleaded guilty to two felony drug charges and a misdemeanor assault family violence. On Sept. 18, he was sentenced to a total of 40 years in prison.

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On July 18, 2022, Montgomery County Sheriff's deputies responded to a domestic violence call and arrested Bates near the location while he was in his car. Deputies found several pounds of marijuana and THC in the backseat.

Nicholas Aaron Bates

He was initially charged with assault family violence and two counts of Manufacturing or Delivery of a Controlled Substance, but when authorities searched Bates' cell phone, they found hundreds of pictures and videos of child pornography, some with victims as young as toddlers.

After analyzing the phone, investigators say they found evidence connecting Bates to child sexual abuse material. He was then charged with four possession of child pornography charges.

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Bates was determined to be guilty by a jury after a less than an hour long deliberation. A former girlfriend testified about multiple domestic violence incidents at the hands of Bates. Recordings from Bates' jail phone calls were played to the jury where he made statements about having "murder on my mind" and "If they could read my mind, they would never let me out."

Judge Mary Ann Turner sentenced Bates to 10 years for each of the possession of child pornography charges to be served one after the other for a total of 40 years. He also received five years for each drug charge and one year for the assault, which will be served at the same time as the 40 year sentence.