Snapchat tip leads to conviction of a child predator

HENDERSON COUNTY – An East Texas man was sentenced to 15 years in prison after officers found multiple files of child pornography inside his home in January, according to a report from our news partner KETK.

Arrest documents show that a criminal investigator with the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office was notified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on Dec. 18, 2024, about a tip they received from Snapchat. The app had reported an incident listed as online enticement of a child for sexual purposes that took place on Sept. 22, 2024. The child victim involved in this incident reported to Snapchat that someone was trying to exploit them with child pornography of them.

The investigator reviewed the evidence submitted in the tip, including 12 files that were determined to be child pornography. They were then able to locate the associated address as being from Murchison.

On Jan. 22, officers searched the home of Dustyn Thomas Loyd, 25, of Murchison on FM 2339, where they located files on his phone that were present in the Snapchat tip. Loyd’s arrest affidavit said it appears he saved the child pornography files and then sent them to the victim to try and exploit them. He then reportedly confessed to soliciting the victim and threatening them. Loyd was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison for four counts of possession of child pornography. He will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.