Andrew Wilder #

Introduction #

Andrew Wilder is a 51-year-old television writer and producer whose credits include the Netflix limited series “Devil in Ohio” and CBS’s “Criminal Minds.” On August 31, 2026, after two days of deliberation, a Santa Clarita Valley jury convicted him of one misdemeanor count of distributing a private image to cause emotional distress — California’s “revenge porn” law — for sharing nude photos of his now ex-wife, Alison Wilder, with members of their congregation without her permission. He remains free pending a November 5 sentencing hearing, and he and Placerita Bible Church of Santa Clarita are simultaneously defendants in a civil lawsuit Alison Wilder filed over the same photos.

Background Information #

Wilder built a decades-long Hollywood writing career, working on “Criminal Minds” and, per court records cited in local coverage, “FBI,” before serving as an executive producer on “Devil in Ohio,” the 2022 Emily Deschanel limited series adapted from Daria Polatin’s novel. He met Alison through work, and the two married in March 2014, when he was 39 and she was 24; they had two children. According to divorce filings reported by the New York Post, Wilder was sober after getting help during the marriage but relapsed in 2019; Alison’s civil suit says he relapsed again in 2023. The family’s church world sits at the center of the case: Placerita Bible Church, a congregation of roughly 350 weekly attendees, is led by Pastor Adam Tyson, who has drawn national attention for leading Bible studies for Kanye West since the rapper’s 2019 gospel period.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #

Adjudicated vs. alleged. Andrew Wilder’s August 31, 2026 jury conviction on one misdemeanor count under Penal Code section 647(j)(4) — distribution of a private image with intent to cause emotional distress — is a matter of court record; he pleaded not guilty before the trial, his sentencing is pending, and his appeal rights survive the verdict. The domestic-violence, substance-abuse and adultery-accusation claims in this section come from Alison Wilder’s civil lawsuit and divorce filings. Those claims were never admitted by Andrew Wilder, were not part of the criminal case, and have not been adjudicated; he denies them and has argued in the civil case that the material was jointly possessed within the marriage and that Alison consented to its sharing.

Alison Wilder filed for divorce in February 2024. According to her civil complaint, filed May 18, 2026 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Wilder emailed several explicit photographs and a video of her to church elders Mark Madrid and Patrick Hamblin — both law-enforcement officers, per the suit — in early August 2024. The complaint alleges that on August 29, 2024, church elders summoned Alison’s father, himself an elder at the church, to a meeting where he was shown the nude images on Hamblin’s iPad, with intimate body parts edited or obscured; the suit says the images were presented as proof of Wilder’s adultery accusation and that leaders discouraged her father from telling her or reporting the matter to police. After Alison learned of the distribution and demanded the images back, the suit alleges Hamblin returned them only after repeated prompting, and that her father was publicly rebuked in a church service for being “quarrelsome and persistently sinning” and removed as an elder after she filed a police report. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office charged Wilder with misdemeanor distribution of a private image to cause emotional distress; he pleaded not guilty, and a pretrial brief from the DA’s office referenced a transcript in which Wilder admitted sending the photos to Hamblin and Madrid as well as several others. The New York Post reports the recipients named in the suit included the church elders and Tyson himself; Wilder was convicted of violating the revenge-porn law for sharing the photos with Tyson and others, the paper wrote.

Public Reaction and Consequences #

The story drew wide attention in Santa Clarita over the summer because of its salacious church setting and the Tyson–Kanye West connection. Katie Rabago, Alison Wilder’s attorney in the civil suit, said after the verdict that it “provides meaningful validation to Mrs. Wilder after a long and painful process,” while noting her side remains “fully focused on our ongoing civil action.” The DA’s office declined to comment on the criminal case. Placerita Bible Church, responding through office manager Terry McClain, said it could not comment on pending litigation but added: “Domestic violence is a grave harm and a serious sin. Our pastoral counsel — without exception — is that anyone in such a dangerous situation should seek safety.” Wilder’s own civil answer, filed July 27, raises 29 separate arguments, including that Alison’s claims are barred by First Amendment protections, that the material was jointly possessed within the marriage, and that she consented to the sharing. Separately, arrest records reported by local outlet KHTS show Wilder was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic battery on February 1, 2026 — an incident that did not involve his wife — and court records show he is subject to two restraining orders.

Current Status #

Wilder’s probation and sentencing hearing is scheduled for November 5, 2026 at the Santa Clarita Courthouse; the maximum penalty for a section 647(j)(4) violation is six months in jail and a fine. The civil suit against Wilder and the church is headed for a hearing in November, with a case-management conference on the November 16 calendar at the Chatsworth Courthouse, where Alison seeks compensatory and punitive damages. Her complaint also alleges that despite a judge’s order to purge the images, copies remain in Wilder’s possession across multiple digital storage devices. Tyson, Hamblin and Madrid remained listed on the church’s website as of June 2026 reporting, and the church has issued no further public statements on the litigation.

Impact on Their Career/Life #

Wilder’s conviction makes him a criminally convicted revenge-porn offender while he awaits a jail-exposure sentence, and the parallel civil suit — which his own answer fights on First Amendment, joint-possession and consent grounds — keeps the allegations against him and his church in litigation through at least the end of 2026. His marriage ended in divorce, and the case’s allegations, aired in court filings covered by both Hollywood and local press, attach his name to conduct claims he denies and to a criminal offense the jury found proven. No studio, network or streamer statement about his employment has been reported. The case has also dragged Placerita Bible Church, pastor Adam Tyson and his Kanye West ministry history into national coverage, with the church defending its counseling posture in a public statement while the suit’s claims remain pending.