ELLIS COUNTY, Texas — An Ellis County church leader who worked with children and had a history of child sex assault offenses was sentenced to 50 years in prison for sexually abusing underage victims who attended his church.
Marvin Scales, 53, of Waxahachie, pleaded guilty on Monday to two counts of sexual abuse of a young child, one count of aggravated sexual assault of a child and one count of sexual assault of a child, according to Ellis County's District Attorney.
In August 2023, Scales was also accused of impregnating a 14-year-old girl. That's when the DA said their investigation into Scales began.
Hospital staff tipped off Waxahachie police when a 14-year-old girl gave birth at Baylor Scott & White and Scales was "overly involved" in the delivery process. A warrant was obtained by police for the newborn’s DNA and it confirmed Scales was the biological father.
Authorities did not release the name or location of the church where Scales worked as a de-facto youth pastor.
"To protect their confidentiality," explained District Attorney Ann Montgomery. "These are children with something horrific happening to them."
The DA's office said once church members learned about the first victim, several more came forward.
"It’s possible there are other victims still out there. Some of the video footage had people that we could not identify," said Hope Sumrow, the prosecutor on the case.
Scales would regularly take the congregation’s children on overnight trips, and he would have the children sleep over at this house, according to the DA. Victims told investigators Scales would have sex with them on the trips and overnight stays.
The DA's office said Scales had an extensive security system installed at his home that captured several of the sexual assaults. They said he even recorded several of the assaults himself and kept them at home.
The security footage helped authorities find even more child sex abuse victims.
“This is an unusually heinous case of child sexual abuse,” said Montgomery after the sentencing. “When a person of authority – especially in a religious institution – is the abuser, it can be incredibly difficult for victims and their families to speak out. We commend the bravery of the children who came forward to ensure that no other child suffered due to Scales’s abuse, and our hearts are with those children who could not speak out.
Scales was arrested for a warrant for aggravated sexual assault of a child in the 400 block of State Highway 342 in Red Oak, an affidavit shows.
Scales is already a registered sex offender from a conviction in 1998 -- and Montgomery said the church could've learned of his past with a simple background check.
"If I was the pastor of a church, I would not want to have a registered sex offender with people spending the night with that person," she said.
Ellis County District Clerk's Criminal Records show that he has 13 sex-related offenses listed including possession of child pornography and aggravated sexual assault of a child.
Scales is not eligible for parole and will have to serve all 50 years of his sentence.