Federal judge rejects pre-trial release for ex-Dumas ISD teacher accused of child pornography

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - A man currently in Randall County Jail on federal charges involving illegal images and videos of young children will not be given the chance at pre-trial release.

Judge Lee Ann Reno issued a three-page order denying a motion filed by Robby Lynn Mason.

Mason is a 56-year-old retired teacher who worked for Dumas Independent School District for a number of years.

He was praised for his ability to form relationships with his students and named Elementary School Teacher of the Year in May 2022.

He came into contact with law enforcement in April 2025. They found that he was actively distributing and obtaining the illegal materials.

U.S. Marshals arrested Mason on Sept. 26 after a federal grand jury indicted him for two counts of child pornography. One count is for receiving and distributing the visual materials, the other count is for having at least one image of a child younger than age 12 and being aware of the child’s age.

Federal court proceedings require that a detention hearing is held for the accused person. The government will either argue that the accused be held in custody due to flight risk or agree that the accused be released until their case is closed.

Mason’s detention hearing was scheduled for October.

On Oct. 1, Mason chose to waive his detention hearing, meaning that he told the government he would not ask them to release him from jail until his trial.

In November, Mason changed his mind.

He filed a motion to reopen the detention hearing, saying that his “medications have been stabilized” and that his “thinking is clearer” than it was when he waived the detention hearing.

Judge Reno disagreed with Mason’s request to consider him for pre-trial release.

Federal code allows a detention hearing to be reopened when new information comes out that shows “truly changed circumstances, something unexpected, or a significant event.”

Mason argued that his clearer thinking due to medication is a new, changed circumstance.

Judge Reno ruled that any information about Mason’s mental health issues or need for medication already existed at the time of his original detention hearing.

She also ruled that Mason’s did not satisfy the prongs of “truly changed circumstances” and does not “show how the evidence was discovered and why it was previously unavailable.”

The order denying Mason’s motion was entered last week. The former Elementary Teacher of the Year will remain in custody until his federal court case is disposed.