SAN MARCOS — A former band director at Dahlstrom Middle School was sentenced to 30 years in state prison on Tuesday, July 25 following a plea agreement.

Tyler Townsend, 33, of Buda, pleaded guilty to 10 counts of possession of child pornography, a third-degree felony, and seven counts of invasive visual recording, a state jail felony.

Tyler Townsend

On July 27, 2020, a search warrant was executed at Townsend’s home on Dragon Ridge Road in Buda. Townsend said he “used to drink excessively and spend a lot of time on the internet,” looking at “stuff he probably should not have been looking at,” according to an affidavit. Upon questioning, he reportedly mentioned “inappropriate pictures,” insisting he did not intentionally view any images of children younger than 18.

According to the affidavit, Townsend also said that he had not shared the images because he was embarrassed and that he tried to create a new Google account because the one he used to download the images had been flagged.

A KPD detective questioned Townsend about how he acquired the images through a search. “In the moment, I didn’t think I was doing anything wrong because nothing was stopping me,” he said. “It was just there.”

Investigators found more than 200 illegal images Townsend’s two laptops and phone, including photos taken beneath the skirts of young girls. Locations where the photographs were taken included the band hall, private band practice, the Dahlstrom track and field area, as well as Hays High School and Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels.

Townsend admitted that he “downloaded an app on his cellular phone which would black out the screen when using the camera.”

He was arrested on Aug. 13 by the Kyle Police Department and was released on a $150,000 bond the following day.

The former band director was placed on administrative leave by Hays CISD on July 27, 2020 after the district was notified by KPD of the investigation. Townsend resigned on July 31. He had been employed by the district since 2015.