Tyler man sentenced for sharing porn, impersonating 10-year-old online

SMITH COUNTY – A Tyler man was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Monday after he impersonated a 10-year-old wanting to engage in sexual activity with other online users. According to our news partner KETK, Smith County officials started investigating Jodi Mack Hester of Tyler, in January. An investigator received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, about an immediate risk to a child. The electronic service provider, Tagged.com, reported possible online enticement and provided chat logs to the investigator dated from November 2024 to January 2025.

The Tagged.com user ‘Jodimarie’ claimed to have a 10-year-old daughter he wished to involve in sexual activity. The cyber tip included the users’ subscribing information and sexually explicit photos, identifying the suspect as registered sex offender Jodi Mack Hester of Tyler.

Investigators went to Hester’s home on FM 14, where they spoke with him but did not find any children. While Hester denied having any access to children; however, he confirmed that he did have conversations with individuals on chatting applications, providing them with the false information of having a child or being a child. Hester showed a detective on his cell phone, which appeared to be young girls, possibly of a teen age.

After reviewing Hester’s cell phone, investigators found several message threads between Hester and other individuals where he portrayed himself as a 10-year-old child. The investigator also reviewed a specific conversation Hester had on Snapchat from Jan. 28 to Jan. 29, where he shared a sexually explicit photo of a girl around 10 to 13 years old.

Hester pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography on Monday and was sentenced to 40 years in prison.