Suspect Arrested For Distribution of Lewd Images Involving Children

SAN ANGELO, TX –– More than a year and a half after the Tom Green County Sheriff's Office received a cyber tip of child pornography being distributed in the area, deputies have arrested a suspect in connection to the case.

According to TGCSO, in December of 2019, the department received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.  In May of 2020, authorities identified a suspect that could be involved in the distribution of images of child exploitation. 

The suspect, identified as 49-year-old Richard Eugene Turner, was interviewed by police. Soon after authorities obtained a search warrant for Turner. During the search, investigators seized three cell phones.

With the assistance of agents with the Texas Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security Investigations, authorities located numerous media files of child exploitation and child pornography. 

A federal grand jury subsequently indicted Turner on a charge of Possession of Child Pornography. Turner was booked into the Tom Green County Jail on Wednesday afternoon. He is being held with no bond.