42-year-old Franklin Joseph Perkins of Alvin has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to receiving and possessing child exploitation material.A federal judge ordered that Perkins serve 14 years total, followed by 10 years of supervised release, where he will have strict rules limiting his contact with minors and his access to the internet. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.
In court, prosecutors explained that Perkins had been working around teenage girls as a gymnastics and martial arts instructor, claiming he was a massage therapist even though he was never licensed.
Investigators traced multiple Google accounts back to Perkins, discovering he had uploaded and stored child sexual abuse material using those accounts and his cell phone.
Perkins previously worked at Kuk Sool Won martial arts studio and Gulf Coast Gymnastics, both in Alvin. He will remain in custody until he is transferred to a federal prison.
The investigation was handled by Homeland Security Investigations along with Pearland PD, the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office and the Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force as part of Project Safe Childhood, a national effort to combat child exploitation.
