HOUSTON – The former general counsel for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has finally reached a resolution in his online solicitation of a minor case more than two years after being arrested by the Harris County Precinct 1 Constable’s Office.
Jeffrey Downing, 48, pled guilty Thursday during an off-docket hearing and before a trial date scheduled for next month.
Charged with online solicitation of a minor, Downing received five years of deferred adjudication and will have to register as a sex offender for 10 years, according to records.
The third-degree felony charge carries a sentence of two to 10 years in Texas, but records show the state, in exchange for Downing’s guilty plea, waived the right to a jury trial and instead let Judge Colleen Gaido determine Downing’s sentence.
What happened
Precinct 1 deputies arrested Downing in May 2024.
According to a search warrant affidavit, Downing used Kik to communicate with an undercover investigator, calling himself “a cowboy lawyer” and later exchanging sexually explicit messages and photos.
He allegedly offered to buy the undercover investigator, who posed as a 15-year-old girl, nice things and exchanged messages while claiming to be at work.
Downing had been free from jail on bond while his case was pending.
Last May, court records show prosecutors made an offer involving prison time and weren’t willing to do deferred adjudication. It’s unclear what changed but in August 2025, records show a new prosecutor was put on the case.
He does not have any criminal history.
Downing joined HLSR in Oct. 2022, according to an interview with Texas Law Book, in which he discussed previously working as a prosecutor.
State records show his bar license is still active. KPRC 2 News has reached out to the State Bar of Texas for additional information.
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