Denver man sentenced to more than 24 years in federal prison for producing child pornography

DENVER — A Denver man was sentenced Tuesday to 292 months (24 years and four months) in federal prison for producing child pornography.

This sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney John Walsh, District of Colorado, and Special Agent in Charge David A. Thompson of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Denver.

Minh Thong, 32, of Denver, was first charged by Criminal Complaint Jan. 20, 2014. He was then indicted by a federal grand jury Jan. 27, 2014. He pleaded guilty before Judge Robert E. Blackburn Aug. 14, 2015. The defendant, who appeared at the hearing in custody, was remanded at its conclusion. Following his prison term, Thong was also ordered to serve 15 years on supervised release.

Thong was identified through Operation Round Table, an extensive international investigation conducted by HSI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS). According to court records in Colorado, the affidavit in support of the original criminal complaint, and the plea agreement, the investigation began July 10, 2013, when an HSI Seattle special agent, while functioning in an undercover capacity, used the Internet to connect to a peer-to-peer file-sharing program (aka FSP). The special agent was able to download child pornography from a specific person using a specific username at a unique Internet Protocol address. The special agent was not only able to download child pornography, the agent was also able to view thumbnail images before choosing which images or videos to download.

Further investigation revealed that the IP address resolved at an address in Denver, and was registered to Minh Thong. A federal search warrant for Thong’s residence was then obtained and executed. HSI found child pornography on Thong’s computer. Thong obtained child pornography from others using peer-to-peer software. He also produced child pornography by accessing video chat websites where individuals can see each other using a web cam. Thong used a program to play a video of a minor female so that the minor person on the other end of the web cam chat believed they were chatting with another minor. During those chats Thong used the video of the minor female, who undressed and fondled herself during the video, to convince users on the other end of the chats to disrobe and/or masturbate. He recorded the video chats and saved the files. Based on the computer forensic examination and additional investigation, there are at least 100 victims depicted in the child pornography videos created by Thong. Thus far, there is no evidence that Thong distributed the child pornography that he produced. Numerous minor victims have been identified during the course of the investigation. The identified victims ranged in age from 12 to 16 years old at the time the videos were created.

“The defendant in this case went far beyond viewing and possessing child pornography; he actively manipulated minors through lies and deceit to produce it for him,” said U.S. Attorney John Walsh. “Minh Thong victimized over 100 children young people and is facing the stern consequences for his crimes.”

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Thong was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alecia Riewerts, District of Colorado.

This investigation was conducted under HSI's Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 14,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2014, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI's Operation Predatorsmartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.

HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.