TYLER, TX. (THECOUNT) — Silas Austin Franks, a Smith County Emergency Services District 2 employee, has been charged with possession of child pornogrophy after he allegedly uploaded pictures to SnapChat depicting victims as young as 2 years old – while he was on duty, according to an arrest warrant.
Franks, 25, of Terrell, TX, had been under investigation after Tyler police received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. NCMEC forwarded the case to the Smith County Sheriff’s Office.
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Silas’ SnapChat account in question utilized username “silas94.”
According to the warrant, the NCMEC sent several files involving children performing lewd sex acts. It stated that many of the images involved children between the ages of 2 and 7. Some of the photos depicted bestiality.
None of the known victims are from East Texas and none were met through his work in ESD2, reports EastTexasMatters.
Franks is being held in the Smith County Jail on a $250,000 bond. He faces up to twenty years in prison, if convicted.
Snapchat sent more 2,000 files from Franks’ account “silas94” and it was found that he chatted with multiple people about trading child porn. He also talked about how he was into bestiality.
Franks is being held in the Smith County Jail on a $250,000 bond. He faces up to twenty years in prison, if convicted.
If you feel you or someone you know may be a victim of Silas please contact police at 911.
DEVELOPING::
Geo quick facts: Tyler is a city in eastern Texas. It’s known as a center for rose cultivation. In season, thousands of rose bushes line the manicured grounds of the Tyler Municipal Rose Garden. The Tyler Rose Museum explores the history of the city’s annual Texas Rose Festival. Housed in an 1859 mansion set in landscaped LeGrand Park, the Goodman Museum features antique furnishings and Civil War–era medical artifacts – wikipedia.