Central Texas man sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison for possessing prepubescent child pornography

LUBBOCK, Texas — A Central Texas man was sentenced Friday to 121 months in federal prison following his guilty plea in August to one count of possessing prepubescent child pornography.

This sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.  This case was investigated by the following law enforcement agencies:  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) Office of Air and Marine, and the Brown County (Texas) Sheriff's Office.

Michael Thomas Franks, 44, of Brownwood, Texas, was remanded into custody.

According to plea documents filed in the 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, Northern District of Texas, was 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 2,300 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

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. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196. 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.