A judge in Tarrant County, Texas, has placed a gag order on lawyers and court officials handling the case of Geronimo Aguilar, a Richmond pastor who could face life in prison if convicted of sexually abusing two young girls in the late 1990s.
Judge Louis Sturns put the order in place Thursday afternoon, according to his office and the Tarrant County District Clerk's Office.
Aguilar, senior pastor at the Richmond Outreach Center, was released from jail after posting bail Thursday. Bail was set at $200,000.
His release came after a bail reduction hearing was scheduled and subsequently canceled.
Shortly after his release, Melody McDonald, a spokeswoman for the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office, said she could not discuss the conditions of Aguilar's bail, including whether he would be allowed to return to Virginia.
She wrote in an email that "Mr. Aguilar's bond conditions can be obtained from the court or the Tarrant County District Clerk's Office."
At about 3:30 p.m., the clerk's office said the paperwork was still in process and to call back in an hour. An hour later, the clerk's office said it was prohibited by the judge's decision from releasing the information.
A subsequent call was referred to Tammy Barnes, Sturns' court coordinator. Barnes did not immediately return a phone message.
Aguilar's lawyer in Virginia, David Carlson, refused to answer any questions through his secretary, citing the judge's gag order. Aguilar's Texas attorneys did not return several messages.
Donnis Baggett, executive vice president of the Texas Press Association, said refusing to disclose public court records citing a gag order is unusual.
"This seems extremely strange from a public records perspective. A gag order usually applies to the principals, particularly the attorneys, discussing the case," he said. "Imposing a gag order on what is a public record is highly irregular."
Aguilar was arrested last week by a U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force.
He has been charged by the Texas authorities in two cases with four counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child younger than 14. The charges are first-degree felonies that carry a sentence of up to life in prison.
He also has been charged with two counts of sexual assault of a child, which are second-degree felonies that carry up to 20 years in prison, and one charge of indecency with a child, also a second-degree felony.
