A League City man who was working as a Houston METRO police officer when he solicited nude photos of an 8-year-old girl online was sentenced Wednesday, Aug. 12, to two years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Gabriel Thomas Slusher, 28, pleaded to a charge of attempt to commit sexual performance by a child under 14, a second-degree felony carrying a range of two to 20 years in prison, according to the Montgomery County Police Reporter. He received the minimum sentence.
The case began June 10, 2025, when an investigator with the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force was conducting a proactive online investigation and made contact with a suspect requesting nude photographs of an 8-year-old girl. While one investigator engaged the suspect through an undercover profile, other task force members identified him as Slusher, then a Houston METRO officer.
Two days later, on June 12, 2025, the task force enlisted the U.S. Marshals Service. Slusher was taken into custody around 2:30 p.m. without incident and transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where his bond was set at $100,000.
Houston METRO police were notified and supported the investigation.
Montgomery County Precinct 1 Constable Philip Cash credited cross-jurisdictional cooperation, calling the case an example of agencies working together to protect children.
League City's role in the same network
Slusher's sentencing comes as the League City Police Department has stepped up its own involvement in the Houston Metro ICAC Task Force. In June 2026, League City police co-led a multi-day proactive online sting with the Houston Metro ICAC Task Force and the Texas City Police Department that resulted in 11 arrests for online solicitation of a minor, with one additional arrest pending. That operation also drew support from the Galveston County Sheriff's Office, Homeland Security Investigations and several other area agencies.
The League City Police Department said in a July 8 statement announcing those results that it "remains committed to protecting the children of our community" and that the operations demonstrate the value of proactive investigations and inter-agency partnerships.
The department was not involved in the Montgomery County investigation that caught Slusher. The local connection is his League City address and the shared regional enforcement network.
Anyone with information about crimes against children can contact the Montgomery County DA's Office ICAC Division at (936) 539-7800, Crime Stoppers, or the League City Police Department at 281-332-2566.
