A federal judge Thursday sentenced a Jacksonville man to the maximum sentence of 30 years in prison on a charge of producing child pornography.
Robert Franke III, 41, pleaded guilty to the charge on Oct. 3 in exchange for the dismissal of four other charges that included another production charge and individual charges of attempted production of child pornography, enticement of a minor and transferring obscene material to a minor.
All the charges involved the same 15-year-old girl, who told police in August 2017 that Franke had been touching her inappropriately and asking her to send him nude photographs of herself for four years. Franke had also sent pictures of his genitals to the girl and asked her to send him sexually explicit photographs of her friends.
At his sentencing hearing Thursday, U.S. District Judge James Moody Jr. found that Franke's behavior was outside the bounds of a typical child pornography case and imposed the maximum sentence.
According to the U.S. attorney's office, Franke admitted in an interview with authorities that he had asked the girl to send him nude photographs in exchange for certain privileges. He also admitted to touching her inappropriately on several occasions.
A forensic review of the girl's cellphone "revealed numerous sexually explicit conversations and nude images of the minor," according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Cody Hiland. An FBI agent's affidavit noted that Franke had also encouraged the girl to drink alcohol in an effort to "loosen her up."
"This defendant took advantage of a young child for years, manipulating her into sending sexually explicit photos of herself," Hiland said. "He received the longest sentence allowed by law, 30 years in prison, because of his abhorrent abuse of this child."
"This case demonstrates our office's dedication to investigating and prosecuting those who prey on children," Hiland added.
In addition to the prison term, which carries no possibility of parole, Moody sentenced Franke to 10 years of supervised release.
The investigation leading to his arrest was conducted by the Arkansas State Police, the Jacksonville Police Department and the FBI. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kristin Bryant and Allison Bragg. Franke was represented by Little Rock attorney Bill James.
Metro on 12/06/2019