Police arrested the husband of a South Dakota day care owner on child pornography charges at the home where his wife ran her day care. James Allen Frank, 36, allegedly possessed videos of sexual content involving prepubescent and pubescent girls. The South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children task force reportedly received a tip from the National Centers for Missing and Exploited Children about James Frank in December 2024.
According to KELO, the tip dates back to September 2024. Per court documents obtained by the station, the IP address and phone number led police to James Frank. The arresting officer provided a warrant and obtained family photos, James Frank’s ID, his credit card, insurance, and other documents. Police also took his cellphone and electronic devices for forensics examination.
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Jahlen Johnson alleged in a TikTok post that James Frank’s wife, Chantelle Frank, ran an unlicensed day care from the home in Spearfish and reportedly left the children alone in her husband’s care. The woman allegedly denied any wrongdoing, and reportedly told a parent the children were safe in her care.
@jahlen.johnson How could you let the parents drop off the kids, knowing this???? #chantelfrank ##jamesfrank##daycare##daycareprovider##childcare ♬ original sound – jahlen.Johnson
Several people shared their outrage on the KELOLAND News Facebook page.
Someone wrote: “I feel the wife should be held responsible for this as it was her job to keep the children in her care safe. They hired her to watch their kids, he shouldn’t have been watching them ever.”
One person claimed James Frank had previous issues related to children. “This isn’t his first offense either… Prob why they left their old state too… She prob knows what he does too,” they wrote.
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Someone suggested James Frank never see the light of day again commenting: “Give him life in prison without any possibility of parole. When he gets there put him in general population!! These kind of people should never see the light of day again.”
Another person wondered if Chantelle Frank denied knowing about her husband’s alleged crimes to protect her family. “She might be saying she didn’t know to protect their son,” one person commented. “But it kind of makes me wonder what he did to his own kid if he is willing to do this to other people’s kids.”
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child), or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
