HSI predator investigation leads to 25-year prison sentence for New York man

NEW YORK — A Long Island man was sentenced Friday to 25 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for sexual exploitation of a child. The defendant filmed himself sexually abusing a child over a two-year period.  This sentence is the result of an investigation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement;s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). 

The sentence was announced by James T. Hayes, Jr., special agent-in-charge of HSI New York and by Loretta E. Lynch, United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

HSI special agents arrested Thomas J. Carey, 36, in June 2009, after special agents obtained a search warrant for his residence based upon a lead from the Swiss National Police and Interpol.  HSI special agents seized computer equipment and digital cameras belonging to Carey containing 161 images of Carey molesting the minor victim between 2007 and 2009, when the victim was 8 to 10 years old.

The investigation was part of 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 10,000 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 2013, 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 Predator smartphone 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.