Skip to main content
May 17, 2019San Francisco, CA, United StatesCyber Crimes, Child Exploitation

Grass Valley man sentenced for child pornography, online child enticement crimes

SAN FRANCISCO – Samuel C. Thompson, 34, of Grass Valley, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. to 10 years and four months in prison for receipt of child pornography and attempting to use the internet to entice a child to engage in sexual activity, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

“Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) (San Francisco and Northern California) is committed to public safety, which includes protecting the children and youth of our communities who are most vulnerable to online predators,” said Ryan L. Spradlin, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations.

According to court documents, between August 2012 and March 2013, Thompson used a peer-to-peer file sharing software program to download child pornography files from the internet. He was charged in case 2:13-cr-273-GEB with receipt of child pornography and pleaded guilty in May 2016. That case was the product of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations.

“We can’t arrest our way out of this problem – the real key to combatting online sexual predators is teaching parents and their children about the dangers of online predators and where to go for help,” Spradlin said. “HSI will continuing working with its federal, state, and local law enforcement partners throughout the Bay Area and Northern California in this crucial endeavor.”

According to court documents, in 2016, while Thompson was on supervised pretrial release in the 2013 case, he posted an online advertisement seeking to meet and teach a “younger lover.” After an undercover Placer County Sheriff’s detective replied to the advertisement, Thompson arranged to meet what he believed would be a 13-year-old girl for a sexual encounter. He was arrested when he arrived at a park in Auburn, where he planned to carry out that sexual encounter. He was charged in case 2:16-cr-232-GEB with attempted online enticement of a minor. That case was the product of an investigation by the Placer County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Updated: