3 men arrested in one of the worst cases of child porn seen in San Jacinto Co.

SAN JACINTO COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- Three men are in custody in connection to a child pornography case in San Jacinto County, in which Sheriff Greg Capers believes there could be 16 victims.

One of those men, 26-year-old James Tumlinson, has been charged with more than 3,000 counts of possession of child pornography.

According to the San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office, Tumlinson was arrested on Feb. 28 in the 900 block of Joyce Street in Shepherd, Texas where he was initially charged with two counts of continuous sexual assault of a child, a first degree felony.

Detectives say they filed additional charges against him after gathering more evidence.

He was then charged with 3,191 counts of child porn and seven counts of promotion of child porn. He has no bond.

"It breaks my heart to think about the children and what they went through in these videos," Sheriff Greg Capers said.

Tumlinson's father, 47-year-old Patrick Tumlinson, and 28-year-old Cody Franklin were also arrested. Charges against Franklin were later dismissed.

Patrick Tumlinson was charged with four counts of failure to report sexual abuse, which are misdemeanor charges.

His total bond is set at $40,000, or $10,000 for each of the four counts.

Franklin was wanted as a person of interest in the case. He has been charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child. Franklin has no bond.

Family and friends told ABC13 that they can't believe the accusations.

"(Pat) I've known all of his life" Debra Hibbard said.

Cody Franklin's grandmother talked to ABC13 about his alleged involvement.

"He said 'I haven't bothered no child.' He said 'nanny, I would kill a person if they were mistreating a child,'" she said.

The sheriff's office says they are still investigating. The FBI, Harris County ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children), and the Attorney General's Office are all helping investigators.

If you have any information related to the case, contact the SJCSO Detective Bureau at 936-653-4367.