Central Texas man pleads guilty to federal child pornography offense

LUBBOCK, Texas — A Central Texas man appeared pleaded guilty Wednesday to an indictment charging one count of possessing prepubescent child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker, Northern District of Texas.

This case is being investigated by the following agencies:  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Office of Air and Marine, and Brown County (Texas) Sheriff’s Office.

Michael Thomas Franks, 43, of Brownwood, Texas, who remains on bond, faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date was not set.

According to plea documents filed in this case, Franks used computers at his residence to search the Internet for images and videos of child pornography. In the course of his searches, Franks located, downloaded, and viewed numerous images and videos of child pornography. He also transferred some of the child pornography from his computer to a computer disk that bore the handwritten label, “Pictures Videos,” which contained one or more images of prepubescent child pornography.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy, the Northern District of Texas, is in charge of the prosecution.

This investigation was conducted under HSI's Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 12,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2014, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI's Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.

HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.