Former martial arts and gymnastics instructor sentenced to 168 months for receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material

Editor's Note:
This matter occurred on date indicated, but not published at that time due to government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.   

GALVESTON, Texas – A 42-year-old Alvin man has been sentenced for receiving and possessing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

Franklin Joseph Perkins pleaded guilty Feb. 3.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey V. Brown has now sentenced Perkins to 168 and 120 months for the receipt and possession convictions, respectively. They will run concurrently for a total 168-month-term of imprisonment. Perkins will serve 10 years on supervised release following the completion of his prison term. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Perkins will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.

At the hearing, the court heard additional information related to Perkins work as a gymnastics and martial arts instructor who gave female teens massages claiming to be a massage therapist. The investigation revealed Perkins never had a license to provide such services. The court also heard how Perkins commented to a 13-year-old that she had a sexy body and that after she had turned 14, he gave her alcohol and touched her breasts and tried to force himself on her. Her victim impact statement detailed how she trusted Perkins as her gymnastics coach and how she felt manipulated and betrayed by him. In handing down the prison terms, the court noted that child pornography cases are ugly cases with real victims.

Perkins previously worked at the Kuk Sool Won martial arts studio and Gulf Coast Gymnastics, both located in Alvin.

The investigation revealed a user with a Google account had uploaded files possibly depicting child sexual abuse material onto their servers. Law enforcement linked Perkins to that account and determined he had been using various Google accounts and his cell phone to receive and possess child pornography.

He will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation along with Pearland Police Department, Galveston County Sheriff’s Office and the Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly Leo and Colton Turner prosecuted the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood - a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."