Arlington ex-pastor convicted of sexual assault denies guilt in civil commitment trial
Fifteen years ago, many people might have said that Terry Hornbuckle had led a charmed life.
The illusion of Hornbuckle’s favored existence quickly crumbled under the weight of multiple sexual assault allegations and three sexual assault convictions in 2006.
Hornbuckle, who was in his early 40s when the crimes he was convicted for took place, was spiritual adviser to the Dallas Cowboys and the bishop of Agape Christian Fellowship, a prominent Arlington church which once boasted more than 2,500 members.
Now, at 58, days away from his projected release date from prison, Hornbuckle is again in a trial fighting to stay out of prison, seemingly unable to fully admit to committing the sexual assaults that got him locked up.
For attorneys representing the state, this may be the last chance that they have to keep Hornbuckle, a man they have portrayed as a violent repeat sexual offender and a danger to the public, behind bars.
Hornbuckle will have served his 15-year sentence on his sexual assault convictions before the end of August. Under Texas law, if prosecutors cannot convince a jury to assign him to the Texas Civil Commitment Program for extended treatment prior to the end of his sentence, Hornbuckle will have to be released from prison a free man.
Previous attempts to have Hornbuckle assigned to the state’s civil commitment program have resulted in a mistrial due to a hung jury, while two other attempts have ended without successfully seating a jury. Hornbuckle has been denied parole during his 15-year prison stay, according to court records.
When Hornbuckle was called to the witness stand on Thursday by Marc Gault, an attorney with the state’s Special Prosecution Unit, the clock was ticking on his effort to paint the former pastor as a liar and an unreformed sexual predator.
Two of his victims were former members of the Agape Christian Fellowship, where Hornbuckle was once a pastor, and two women said the megachurch minister drugged them.
Hornbuckle was removed as Agape’s pastor and divorced from his wife, Renee, after his legal troubles began.
Deny, deny, deny
According to his testimony, the three women Hornbuckle was convicted of sexually assaulting 15 years ago all lied, as did other women who alleged that they were drugged and then sexually assaulted by the former pastor. Hornbuckle said each of the victims consented to having sex with him. The allegations from some other women who said Hornbuckle drugged and then sexually assaulted them did not lead to convictions, according to court records.
On the stand Thursday and Friday, Hornbuckle denied nearly every act that had put him in prison for the past 15 years.
Hornbuckle denied one woman’s account of them having sex and said he never used drugs to obtain sex from his victim.
Hornbuckle admitted Friday that it was wrong for him to have sex with members of his church who counted on him for spiritual guidance, but later testified that the sex he had with each of those women was consensual, and added that he does not know why those women accused him of sexual assault.
“What I’ve come to know from therapy, it was wrong to be in the role of pastor and counselor and to be kissing her, hugging her and touching her,” Hornbuckle testified about one of his sexual assault victims. “I did not victimize her in any other way.”
When Gault asked Hornbuckle how he exploited the women at his church, the ex-pastor explained that he has learned during his therapeutic treatment that he was taking advantage of those women because they were dependent on his advice and their perception of his position in the church.
“At the time I knew it was morally wrong, but I did not know it was legally wrong,” Hornbuckle testified. “But I’ve learned through therapy and I accept the fact that that was what was taking place.”
Gault hammered Hornbuckle on his consistent denials concerning the crimes that he was convicted of, refuting his testimony with entries from previous depositions and quotes from recent written assignments from treatment programs that Hornbuckle was assigned while in prison.
Gault asked Hornbuckle if he believed that all these women lied about what he did while at trial under oath and during cross-examination by his defense attorneys.
“I never had a defense,” Hornbuckle testified.
The program
The jury must decide that Hornbuckle is a repeat violent sexual offender who is likely to re-offend in order for the court to assign him to the state’s civil commitment program, Olivia Thayer, another attorney with the state’s Special Prosecution Unit, told the jury.
Hornbuckle’s three sexual assault convictions were evidence that he is a repeat offender, so attorneys concentrated on presenting evidence that the former pastor is likely to commit new crimes.
Michael Arambula, a forensic psychiatrist, was called to the stand Friday to help Gault and Thayer make that case.
Despite his three convictions, Hornbuckle denied virtually all wrong-doing on his part while saying that he accepted the conclusions of the jury that convicted him. Arambula said Hornbuckle’s testimony confused him and presented a dilemma.
By denying any wrongdoing or responsibility, Hornbuckle has never had to address the psychological issues that drive his behavior, Arambula said.
Clearly this means Hornbuckle is “in massive denial,” Arambula testified. “Taking responsibility is one of the big, first steps. Once they address the reasons and what happened, they can begin to take control. I look for responsibility as the door to exploring why they did what they did. Denial is part of his mental condition. He’s been in the treatment program and they have not made a dent.”
Hornbuckle’s mental condition also includes a healthy dose of narcissism, according to Arambula.
Hornbuckle is, “so narcissistic that it bleeds over into anti-social behavior,” Arambula testified. “And often when you think you are above the rules, you break the rules.”
Should Hornbuckle be enrolled in the state’s civil commitment program, he will receive treatment for his diagnosis until he is deemed appropriate for release, according to the law. The Texas law was changed because the state faced lawsuits from individuals and advocates who argued that people assigned to the program were never able to gain release, no matter how long they stayed in treatment or how far they progressed in treatment.
Others were concerned that sex offenders who had served their sentences yet were still deemed dangerous to the public were living in halfway houses and allowed to work in the community under what some perceived as lenient restrictions.
The Texas Civil Commitment Center opened a locked facility with 184 clients in September 2015 in Littlefield, which is about 110 miles south of Amarillo, after the passage of the new law, according to an official with the Texas Civil Commitment Office. The Littlefield facility now provides housing and treatment for 367 clients.
Eight people have been released from the Texas Civil Commitment Center since its opening, said Jessica L. Marsh, director of program operations. Another two clients are near release, but the process has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the difficulty of finding jobs and housing during the coronavirus pandemic, Marsh said.
Testimony in the Hornbuckle trial is expected to resume Monday. Attorneys with the Special Prosecution Unit rested Friday afternoon. Spectator seating is limited to three and is assigned on a first-come, first-served basis due to COVID-19 restrictions.
One juror is allowed seating on each bench. Partitions have been erected to separate the jury from the gallery and an adjacent courtroom has been designated as the jury room where jurors will retire to deliberate or gather during breaks in the trial.
