Tyler Man Arrested on Child Porn Charges

SMITH COUNTY — A Tyler man is accused of sharing more than 400 photographs and videos of child pornography over his Tumblr account, according to an arrest warrant obtained by our news partner KETK. The Smith County Sheriff’s Office opened an investigation in March after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The tip flagged 49 photos shared by the Tumblr account “youngisbetterr.” Investigators served a subpoena to Suddenlink Communications where they discovered a laptop that uploaded the videos belonged to the wife of Matthew Landua. Landua, 25, was interviewed by authorities in April when a search warrant was executed on his house and confirmed that the “youngisbetterr” account belonged to him.

The warrant says he also told deputies that no one else had accessed the account. When asked by investigators why he would disseminate child porn, Landua allegedly said he did not have an excuse. A search warrant was then executed for the Tumblr account where it was discovered that Landua had shared 410 images and videos of children that “appear to be well under 18 years of age.”

Landua was arrested once the Tumblr account records were received in August. He is being held in the Smith County Jail on a $750,000 bond.