The bond for a former pastor accused in a child sex sting has been revoked after prosecutors accused him of using the online gay hookup app Grindr.
James Gorman Houston III, the son of the late Alabama Supreme Court justice J. Horman Houston, Jr., was rebooked into the Tuscaloosa County Jail.
Houston was arrested in December 2024 during an undercover sting by the West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force. He was charged with electronic solicitation of a child and traveling to meet a minor for a sex act.
Investigators said Houston was using Grindr to communicate with the undercover agent who was posing as a child. In court filings, prosecutors claim that Houston was using the app again in June this year under the username "confident dad."
After hearing arguments, Tuscaloosa Circuit Judge Allen W. May ordered Houston's bond be revoked pending a hearing on July 28. Prosecutors are requesting that Houston be held until his case is resolved.
Houston's bond was previously revoked for using electronic devices. In January 2025, the Court revoked his bond, but he was released to a treatment facility in March of that year. In November 2025, prosecutors filed a motion to revoke his bond again after another violation. In that instance, Houston was given a seven-day suspended sanction.
Attorneys for the defense deny all allegations against him. Houston is considered innocent until proven guilty.
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