SWEENY, Texas – A survivor who waited 25 years to be believed is now seeing the man she accused of sexually assaulting her as a child behind bars.
Timothy Dale Webb, a former Sweeny Volunteer Fire Chief, has been indicted on multiple child sex crime charges, including aggravated sexual assault of a child, sexual assault of a child and prohibited sexual conduct. The alleged abuse occurred between 1999 and 2005, when the survivor was between 12 and 18 years old.
KPRC 2 News reporter Corley Peel spoke with Police Chief Brad Caudle about Webb’s arrest.
The survivor, who Caudle said is close to Webb’s family, first reported the alleged crimes roughly 2 decades ago but was dismissed. He said she was as a troubled teenager.
“The threat was more, ‘nobody’s gonna believe you if you say it,’” Caudle said.
Caudle said the police chief who served during that time period has since passed away, leaving questions about why the original report was not pursued.
“We don’t know,” Caudle said.
More than two decades later, the survivor came forward again after watching recent unrelated arrests of other Sweeny firefighters make headlines. Former volunteer firefighter Coleman Pollock faces multiple child sex crime charges. Webb’s son, Timothy David Webb, who is also a former Sweeny fire chief, is already in jail on 13 counts of child sex crimes, accused of forcing young girls to perform sex acts in exchange for money. Investigators say Timothy David Webb and Pollock are accused of exchanging explicit photos of child victims.
Caudle says the Webb family represents a disturbing three-generation pattern of men accused of child sex crimes.
“I can say in 35 years, it’s one of the first times I’ve seen it to this degree, a grandfather, father and son,” Caudle said.
When confronted about the allegations, Caudle says Timothy Dale Webb was largely uncooperative, offering only this response:
“If anything had happened, it wasn’t inside the city limits because I’ve never lived inside the city limits,” Caudle recalled Webb saying.
Despite that pushback, Caudle says the Sweeny Police Department pursued the case and will continue to do so regardless of Webb’s standing in the community.
“I can’t speak for every police department, but I can speak for the Sweeny Police Department. We’re going to follow through with any investigation, no matter what magnitude, no matter who it’s against,” Caudle said.
Timothy Dale Webb was removed from the fire department once the investigation began. He is now held in the Brazoria County Jail without bond. It is the same jail where his son is also being held.
Caudle believes there could be more victims across all three cases and is urging anyone with information to contact the Sweeny Police Department.