Over 27,000 Reasons Why a Tyler, Texas Man Was Arrested

Hearing about a case like this makes me appreciate the efforts made by police across Texas, but in this case specifically the work done by Texas Department of Public Safety investigators. It was reported earlier this week by KLTV, that 38-year-old Tyler, Texas resident Austin Wayne Odell was charged with possession of child pornography and sexual assault of a child.  

Odell was arrested on Monday, August 12th after allegedly deleting thousands of digital files. At this point Texas DPS investigators already had information linking the crimes to his personal devices, but he had also admitted it to law enforcement.  

This Has Been Going on for More Than a Year 

It was back in February of 2023 when Texas DPS investigators first found out about the suspect downloading approximately 99 videos and 4 images showing the child pornography. There was a search warrant executed in late August, but nothing was found at that time.  

The Suspect Left Town 

As the investigation began the suspect decided to leave his residence and took his laptop computer with him. Investigators eventually met with Odell who admitted to downloading child pornography and deleting lots of that material from his computer.  

Get our free mobile app

The Computer Was Seized by Texas DPS 

As you would expect law enforcement took his laptop and found that 23,940 files were deleted on the day of the first law enforcement interview, another 3,376 files were deleted on the day of the second interview. As well as software to download that type of material.  

According to Smith County Jail records, Odell is still in custody on two charges equaling $600,000 in bonds.