Former East Texas Deputy Pleads Guilty in Child Exploitation Case

A former East Texas deputy has now pleaded guilty to charges in a child sex crimes case. A former Houston County Sheriff's Office Deputy has pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of children and production of child pornography.

Why the Former Deputy Was Investigated

According to KETK, federal court documents released earlier this week show that on Monday, Skyler Laza, a former Houston County Sheriff's Office Deputy who was arrested for aggravated assault of a child, has signed a guilty plea for two charges of sexual exploitation of children/production of child pornography.

READ MORE: Gladewater Officer Arrested for Child Indecency

What Federal Investigators Found

Laza was tried in federal court because he was under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security Investigations division for breaking federal law.

Laza was first hired by the Houston County Sheriff's Office in October 2024.

In November 2025, Laza was fired from the sheriff's office and arrested. This came after one of his juvenile relatives was interviewed forensically and corroborated videos showing Laza sexually assaulting the juvenile.

As part of the guilty plea, Laza admitted to engaging in sexually explicit conduct with a minor with the goal of creating child pornography that he went on to knowingly distribute.

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Possible Federal Prison Sentence

Laza will be sentenced by United States Magistrate Judge John D. Love and that sentence will have to be approved by a United States District Court Judge. Laza faces a minimum of ten years and a maximum of 20 years in federal prison.