League City's 'Volunteer of the Year' charged with possession of child porn, sheriff's office said

David Nolder

The Daily News
By TRACE HARRIS, The Daily News
June 25, 2023

LEAGUE CITY - The 2022 League City “Volunteer of the Year,” who was honored for his work building sets for youth theater productions, has been charged with two felony counts of possession of child pornography, officers said.

The Major Crimes Unit of the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office searched David James Nolder’s home in the 200-block of Meadowhill Lane on a warrant connected to child pornography, officers said.

Nolder’s attorney complained Monday that law enforcement officials had been slow to provide evidence against Nolder.

“The State has not produced any evidence despite the request and public filing requested in my letter of representation,” Nolder’s defense attorney Katy-Marie Lyles said.

A forensic examination of a computer hard drive seized in the search uncovered file folders containing child pornography, according to an affidavit.

One folder contained hundreds of images of nude girls who appeared to be between 8 years old and 12 years old, investigators alleged in the affidavit.

Nolder, 50, acknowledged he would occasionally see porn images through a file-sharing program that were likely minors, according to the affidavit. Investigators found he had deleted his searches, but they were stored on his hard drive. Nolder said he did view child pornography the week before the search, according to the affidavit.

Nolder was charged with two counts of possession of child pornography June 13 after the forensic examination was complete, authorities said.

Each charge is a third-degree felony that carries a penalty of 2 to 10 years in prison. Nolder was jailed on $25,000 bonds for each charge, but has since been released on bail, according to jail records.

Nolder’s wife is the youth theater instructor with League City’s Parks and Recreation Department and he volunteered to build sets and coordinated lighting and audio for rehearsals and performance, League City’s Director of Communication Sarah Greer Osborne said.

Because Nolder was a volunteer and not an employee, no background check was performed, Osborne said. The city plans to review its policy and Nolder has been barred from assisting his wife’s work, Osborne said.