WICHITA COUNTY (KFDX/KJTL) — Formal charges have been filed in Wichita County against a Colorado man for multiple child sex crimes following an undercover operation by the Criminal Investigations Division of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Stephen Nicholas Handal, 63, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, was initially arrested on June 10, 2025, on five charges of online solicitation of a minor. He was released from custody three days later after posting $350,000 in total bonds.
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On Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, a Wichita County grand jury returned indictments against Handal, formally charging him with five counts of online solicitation of a minor.
According to court documents, a DPS special agent began an undercover investigation on April 22, 2025, to identify adults communicating with minors over the internet in a sexually explicit manner or engaging in sexual contact…