A registered sex offender in Parker County was arrested after investigators say he accidentally dropped a thumb drive containing thousands of files of child pornography in the parking lot of the sheriff’s office following a routine compliance check.
According to the Parker County Sheriff’s Office, William Raymond Catron was taken into custody after deputies linked him to a digital thumb drive found outside the agency’s main building on March 18. The device, turned in by a visitor, contained more than 2,000 images and 100 videos of child pornography, along with photos of Catron, authorities said.
Sheriff Russ Authier said Catron had just completed a required sex offender compliance appointment, where registrants must periodically verify their information, before leaving the building and driving away.Â
Investigators later reviewed surveillance video that showed a thumb drive falling from Catron’s pocket as he retrieved his car keys in the parking lot, according to the sheriff’s office.
Surveillance video, confession lead to additional charges
William Raymond Catron.
Parker County Sheriff’s Office
Authorities said the footage, along with the contents of the device, helped confirm the thumb drive belonged to Catron and was in his possession during the compliance check.
Investigators contacted Catron and asked him to return to the sheriff’s office, where he was taken into custody. During a recorded interview, officials said Catron confessed to possessing child pornography.
A subsequent search of his home, conducted with assistance from the Weatherford Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety, turned up additional electronic devices believed to contain similar material.
After reviewing the evidence, a judge issued additional warrants on March 20, charging Catron with first-degree felony possession of child pornography involving a child under 10 and second-degree felony failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements.
Catron was booked into the Parker County Jail. His bond was set at $750,000.