Texas Panhandle Church Music Minister Accused of Receiving Sexually Explicit Images, Videos From Minors

AMARILLO, Texas – A longtime music minister at First Baptist Church of Borger has been arrested on a federal child pornography charge after investigators say he received more than 50 sexually explicit images and videos from two minors and communicated online with people he believed were underage.

Tharon Thomas Drake, 53, of Borger was arrested by federal agents Sept. 30 following the filing of a criminal complaint charging him with receipt of child pornography.

Drake has served as a music minister at First Baptist Church of Borger since being hired in 2020. Until recently, the church’s website identified him as its minister of worship arts and media. His name has since been removed from the church’s About Us page.

The information provided does not indicate whether Drake resigned, was terminated or placed on leave, and the church has not been quoted as providing an explanation for the website change.

According to the criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Amarillo, Drake’s alleged online activity stretched from at least April 2024 through Sept. 2, 2026.

Investigators said one of those interactions involved a Kik account operated by an undercover FBI employee who Drake believed was a 13-year-old girl. Communications with that account began in 2024, according to the complaint.

Federal investigators also allege Drake used Snapchat to exchange sexually explicit messages with minors.

Court-authorized search warrant evidence showed Drake received more than 50 sexually explicit images and videos from two minor victims after they disclosed that they were younger than 18, according to prosecutors.

Investigators said Drake used multiple messaging platforms and that they linked the accounts to him through subscriber records, online accounts, IP address information and other identifying data.

Federal prosecutors have not disclosed the ages of the two minors who investigators say sent Drake the sexually explicit material.

Drake made his initial appearance Sept. 30 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lee Ann Reno.

If convicted of receipt of child pornography, he faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years in federal prison.

The FBI’s Amarillo Resident Agency investigated the case with assistance from the FBI’s Wichita Falls Resident Agency, Borger Police Department, Hutchinson County Sheriff’s Office and Potter County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Callie Woolam and Aspen Hall are prosecuting the case.