Memorandum Opinion by Chief Justice Dori Contreras of the 13th Court of Appeals in Texas regarding a matter of public concern surrounding Richard Galvan.
CEO’s of G5 Internet Services Richard Galvan and Sonia Galvan seem to be paying for articles. Why would they do this? If you understand anything about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) it’s a very simple answer. The more content, the more likely your chances are to rank up in google/yahoo/bing, etc. Why would they be doing this now? Well, that answer is also simple- because they probably don’t want the opinion from the 13th Court of Appeals to be easily searchable. Fortunately, no matter how many companies they hire and pay, this website is getting an average of 300 views a month. It would be almost impossible for it to be outranked, no matter how much Richard Galvan and Sonia Galvan would like it to be. Richard Galvan and Sonia Galvan should have thought about reputation management prior to his 2007 sexual assault of a teenage girl.
Article showing “paid content”Another article from “accesswire” clearly showing a firm has been paid to flood the internet with generic articles.
Richard Galvan has also appeared to have purchased the rights to a domain with his name. It’s a simple tactic with SEO to hire a reputation management company.
The 13th Court of Appeals Opinion written by Chief Justice Dori Contreras was released in October of 2019. Multiple legal websites posted it (which you can find here) and with an easy search on Google you could find it just by typing the names of the parties involved. After a few months they began disappearing from Google Search one by one, until they couldn’t be found. Assuming this was done at the request of The Galvan’s, this website was created to ensure the public has free and easy access to the public information. Over the last month there have been multiple articles (like the one below) posted regarding Richard and Sonia Galvan and their company G5 Internet Services. The Galvan’s have assumingely hired a company for reputation management (which they discussed in their depositions), as well as have seemingly attempted to get the opinion of the court ranking lower on Google and harder to find through a simple search. There are blog posts being released almost daily (all of which say generically the same thing, and written in a way to boost SEO). Clearly, this is an attempt to try and bury the court opinion.
The opinion from the court is that thisWAS and REMAINS a matter of public concern. The public has the right to know about Richard Galvan’s prior sexual misconduct, assault, and he and Sonia Galvan’s attempt to sue the victim into silence, despite how much they would like for it to be hidden by paying for generic articles which seem to be written by themselves (or from writers in Kenya).
Richard Galvan and Sonia Galvan appeared to have hired a company for reputation management. Generic article from a paid company hired by Richard and Sonia GalvanAnother Generic paid article “As engaged members of the community, Richard Galvan and Sonia Galvan support local, state, and international non-profit organizations. Most recently, they showed support for a battered women’s shelter in Nicaragua. They have served on numerous boards, directed local events, and sponsored many local activities. Sonia Galvan has served as a board member for Pregnancy Testing Center, a local, non-profit center for women that are pregnant. Richard Galvan has served as vice president for the City of Mercedes Economic Development Corporation for six years, FCA, and president for his local country club, and, until the pandemic hit, served on a cohort to build a new joint educational facility with Harlingen ISD and the University of Texas RGV.” Contributor Paul Wafula Paul Wafula is a serial entrepreneur who has founded multiple successful businesses in the field of writing, content marketing, web design and also SEO. Ever since graduating from the University of Nairobi, in Kenya, content marketing and writing has been one thing that Paul has been passionate about and now help’s entrepreneurs and businesses alike get their story heard across the world.
All of these news articles were taken by screenshot off of the internet. During the pendency of the lawsuit filed by Richard Galvan and Sonia Galvan against the Crews’s, the articles have mysteriously and interestingly been removed. These articles provide evidence that Richard Galvan and Sonia Galvan seemingly tampered with the articles to have them removed and pulled off of the internet while also committing perjury in their depositions by denying under oath that they were ever youth pastors.
Valley Morning Star Nov 2007Valley Morning Star Nov 2007The Brownsville Herald Nov 2007
Though the Galvan’s both deny (for the first time) that they were youth pastors in their depositions, below is an article from the Valley Morning Star in November, 2007 showing Richard and Sonia Galvan were both interviewed as the acknowledged Youth Pastors of the Northway Bible Church in Harlingen, Texas during all relevant times. There were also articles from The Brownsville Herald. Mysteriously, the articles (which were all searchable on google/yahoo) have since been removed after the lawsuit was filed- assumptively at the request of the Galvans. You can view articles that have been removed here
Along with the articles, the Crews’s provided written affidavits from the Pastor of Northway Bible Church, two former board members, a former youth member, and a church member whose children were a part of the youth group. They allstated under oath in sworn affidavits that the article from the Valley Morning Star was true and correct, and that Richard Galvan and Sonia Galvan acted as youth ministers during 2007 when the sexual assault took place.
The Galvan’s had four affidavits, their original pleadings, their amended pleadings, as well as their brief and responses to the Court of Appeals, and not once did they deny their roles as youth ministers. Only until the Crews’s filed their counter-claim and the Galvan’s non-suited their claims for assault, public disclosure of private facts, intentional infliction of emotional distress, as well as the judgement ordered by the court dismissing their defamation per se claim did they decide to make these claims for the very first time.
Richard Galvan and Sonia Galvan also for the first time decided to tell a different version of the events. From their first pleading, all the way through the court of appeals, to them non-suiting the rest of their claims, they stated “this is false” in regards to the Crews’s allegations. During their depositions (which was after they lost their defamation lawsuit, and after they non-suited their remaining claims) they decided it would be a good time to blame the victim (Hannah) for the sexual assault. They both claimed and now say that the 100 lb. 17 year old high school teenage girl was the aggressor, and overpowered Richard Galvan in his office against his will. Sonia Galvan (who wasn’t even there) agreed with this version of the events, seemingly by believing her husband’s ridiculous story. They had over a year to tell this story, yet failed to do so and solely stuck to “this is false, this is all false”. They are simply trying to save face at this point by making up things that no reasonably minded person would believe. The Galvan’s quite simply put, are pathological liars.
Richard Galvan and Sonia Galvan also both admitted in their depositions that Blaine never threatened them or their children with imminent harm, yet the Galvan’s still sued the Crews’s for assault by threat. They both swore under oath when they signed their pleadings and affidavits, as well as asking for a permanent injunction, that Blaine threatened them and their children’s lives. None of this was true, it never was true, yet the Galvan’s swore under oath that it was. This is just one more example of the countless lies that they have told throughout this case.
Interestingly, the original lawsuit filed by the Galvan’s (now non-suited and/or dismissed) were regarding statements made by Blaine Crews. Richard Galvan and Sonia Galvan continued to show their maliciousness by solely deposing Hannah and not Blaine, which has been consistent with the nature of their tactics in this case. The almost one million dollar lawsuit filed by Richard and Sonia Galvan was an attempt to bully, financially damage, and silence the victim (Hannah) and her husband about the sexual assault committed by Richard Galvan. Throughout this case the stories and versions of the events have changed numerous times with the Galvan’s. The Crews’s allegations, timelines, pleadings, and affidavits have stayed consistent throughout the entirety of the case.
You can view the signed orders for fees and sanctions, as well as the judgement dismissing the Galvan’s Defamation Per Se here
Richard Galvan also admitted in his depositions that he didn’t have a college degree, nor did he attend the University of Texas, yet he has claimed that he did. This screen shot taken from google showing Richard Galvan’s website (which was created for paid advertisements and SEO) shows him advertising that he completed his degree at the University of Texas. Also keep in mind this website was created after the depositions. Chalk this up to another lie.
From the description of Richard Galvan’s website, he claims he completed his degree at The University of Texas. In his depositions he admitted he didn’t have a degree.
See below for article from The Valley Morning Star, as well as the full transcripts of Richard Galvan and Sonia Galvan’s depositions.
The Crews’s were awarded mandatory sanctions and fees on June 9th, 2020 by the 445th District Court in Cameron County and the Honorable Judge Gloria Rincones. This was in reference to the Crews’s winning their Anti-Slapp which can be found at http://www.crews-vs-richard-galvan-sonia-galvan.com
Richard Galvan and Sonia Galvan, who initially brought the lawsuit against the Crews’s are ordered to pay $45,000 in Sanctions to deter them from filing frivolous lawsuits related to this matter again. They are also required to pay attorney fees in the amount of $25,800, and other costs of $1046 .50 and 567.87. All of Richard Galvan and Sonia Galvan’s causes of action have either been dismissed or non-suited in this case. Plaintiffs Richard Galvan and Sonia Galvan filed a motion for sanctions against the Crews’s as well as a motion for continuance- both of which were denied.
The Crews’s have filed a counter-claim against the Galvan’s for Malicious Prosecution and Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress for the filing of their original lawsuit. This counter-suit is ongoing and pending.
Richard Galvan and Sonia Galvan were deposed on May 14th and 15th of 2020. Those depositions are available here , including deposition transcripts and all other relevant court documents at https://portal.co.cameron.tx.us/portalprod then click “smart search” and type “galvan, richard” and find case
In 2007 and prior to her senior year of high school in Harlingen, TX, Hannah Crews (then Linn) suffered a break up with her high school sweet heart. Her youth pastor Richard Galvan hired her at his office, and began to counsel her. Richard told Hannah that the reason she was heartbroken was because of the physical attachment she had developed with her ex-boyfriend and “that the physical aspect of it caused her to be spiritually connected to her ex-boyfriend’s soul.” Richard explained to Hannah that the way to heal from her break up was through intimacy.
According to Hannah:
Richard would then bait me with his questions, asking, ‘so what do you think you need to do to move on from this pain?’ Richard made me think I needed to respond with ‘having sex,’ since he had just explained that sex brought healing. He then shook his head yes and told me that he would ‘help me out with this.’ Richard again told me that completing this physical act of sex would heal me spiritually, since the two (physical intimacy and spirituality) were tied together. He also convinced me that since I trusted him as my mentor, it was safest to go about it this way (having sex with him instead of someone else).
Nothing happened that day physically between us. It still took many more conversations to convince me that having sex with him (Richard) would help me heal. I even asked him during a later conversation, “But that means you would be taking my virginity,” of which he got angry with me, stepped close to my face, and said sternly, “No, I am not taking your virginity, you are giving it to me, because you are entrusting me to help you heal.” Since I had deep love and admiration for his wife Sonia, I would also ask him how it was okay to do this since he was married. He convinced me, over and over, that this act was a strictly physical action for a spiritual healing for me and me alone. But he also told me that she would never know about this, so I didn’t have to worry about this hurting her.
Finally, after weeks and weeks of conversation and manipulation and coercion and convincing in Mr. Galvan’s office, at the beginning of volleyball season before school started in August of 2007, I agreed to meet Richard at the La Quinta hotel in Mercedes, TX. Richard was fearful of being discovered that day, and even thought a car across the street was a hired investigator that was possibly watching us. We went upstairs, I agreed to sexual acts, and lost my virginity that day. Afterwards, I had to go to school and travel with my team to play in the first volleyball tournament of the pre-season. I was still 17 years old. And that was the first and last time I agreed to do anything physical with Richard Galvan for the rest of my life.
Hannah’s mother found out and confronted Richard. Richard then went to Hannah’s parents house and admitted what had happened to Hannah’s mother.
In October 2018, Hannah told her husband Blaine the details of the events that occurred. After learning of Richard Galvan’s identity, Blaine became very upset and obtained Sonia Galvan’s cell phone number and texted her. Richard called him back almost immediately. Blaine was concerned that Richard may “still be associating himself with youth and placing himself in a position to take advantage of other young women under his authority.” According to Blaine, during his conversation with Richard, Richard acknowledged that the events Blaine recounted about Richard’s sexual relationship with Hannah were true. Blaine told Richard and Sonia Galvan that he was concerned about Richard being around young women and that people needed the information about his interactions with Hannah to determine whether Richard should be around their daughters.
Blaine then called Calvary Christian School (where Richard and Sonia Galvan’s children attended, and Richard Galvan had coached the girls basketball team) and The Living-Way Family Church in Brownsville, TX (where the Galvan’s attended church). Blaine attempted numerous times to reach Pastors Bill Moore and Anne Moore and inform them of Richard’s past sexual misconduct with teenagers, especially since Richard and Sonia’s daughter was in the youth group there. Bill Moore and Anne Moore refused to speak about the matter to the Crews’s or the Crews’s attorney, and instead allowed their executive assistant Melissa Barerra-Sosa to sign a sworn affidavit attempting to assist the Galvan’s by stating “Blaine went from cordial to upset” after she told him the pastors wouldn’t speak to him. Since Richard was on the board for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in South Texas, he also reached out to them as well as the National FCA.
In or around November 2018, Richard and Sonia Galvan (The Galvan’s) filed a lawsuit against the Crews’s for Defamation Per Se, Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress, Public Disclosure of Private Facts, and Civil Assault. The Crews’s filed a Motion to Dismiss via the Texas Anti-Slapp Statute on the grounds of freedom of speech in regards to a matters of public concern in which the trial court denied. They immediately appealed the decision and took it before the 13th Court of Appeals in Texas in which the Memorandum Opinion written by Chief Justice Dori Contreras reversed the judgement of the trial court, dismissing the Defamation per se cause of action. The Galvan’s have since nonsuited all of their remaining causes of action against the Crews’s.
On June 9th, 2020 the Crews’s were awarded mandatory fees and sanctions. Click here for more information. The Crews’s have filed a counter-suit for Malicious Prosecution and Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress. That claim is still pending jury trial set for February 2022.
A photo of Richard Galvan preaching to high school aged children during an FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) event. Though he and Sonia Galvan claim in their depositions neither of them held any kind of leadership role over young people.One of the biggest concerns for Blaine Crews was that Richard Galvan was associating himself with young girls in a position of authority- like this photo above which shows him coaching a girls basketball team. Blaine (a father of a daughter himself), could not allow the previous admitted behavior of Richard Galvan to go unrecognized. It is the sole reason he contacted the schools, churches, and FCA organizations. The parents of girls just like the ones above have the right to know about Richard Galvan and Sonia Galvan. The girls faces have been blacked out to protect their identity. Taken from The Valley Morning Star showing Richard Galvan involved with the HCISD (Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District). The opinion from the 13th Court of Appeals in Texas believes the public has the right to know about Richard Galvan’s sexual misconduct, as it pertains to a matter of public concern.
