Court accepts deferred adjudication for Jonathan Carter; conditions include community service, classes and restricted contact

A Denton County court accepted a plea and granted deferred adjudication Tuesday in the case of Jonathan Carter, who faced a state-jail felony charge for publishing or threatening to publish intimate visual material.

Court records show the parties filed plea paperwork and stipulations; the state recommended a two-year deferred-adjudication term, a $2,000 fine, 100 hours of community-service restitution, and participation in TAP/anger-management/parenting classes. The court reviewed admonishments and instructed counsel to put plea conditions "below the line" on the plea page to avoid confusion about what the parties had agreed to and what the court would set.

Defense counsel described Carter’s community role and character, telling the court Carter volunteers as a high-school football coach and is a former NFL player. The judge discussed the state's recommendations, stressed the court is not bound to accept them in whole, and set the conditions the defendant must follow while on probation, including random UAs and regular reporting by Zoom or in person.

The court permitted a victim-impact statement during the proceeding; after hearing the complainant, the judge reiterated that deferred adjudication could be revoked if the defendant violated probation and that revocation could expose the defendant to incarceration up to the statutory maximum. The judge also discussed limited travel allowances tied to parenting obligations and ordered probation to work with counsel on any travel approvals.

The defendant waived the right to jury trial and agreed to stipulations of evidence. The court accepted the plea and will oversee implementation of the conditions through probation.