Kansas man sentenced to 150 months for distributing child pornography

TOPEKA, Kan. — A central Kansas man, who used the screen name “kansas_dad” in chat rooms, was sentenced Wednesday to 150 months in federal prison for distributing child pornography.

This sentence resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Topeka, Kansas, Police Department.

Tucker J. Newman, 48, of Topeka, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of distributing child pornography. In his plea he admitted he sent child pornography to an undercover investigator in California.

During an online conversation in January 2014, Newman asked the investigator to send him video of a child being sexually abused. In trade, Newman sent the investigator child pornography. When investigators served a search warrant at Newman’s home in Topeka, they found 64 video files of child pornography on a recordable DVD. Most of the videos showed adult men engaging in sex acts with children younger than 10 years of age.

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 2015, nearly 2,400 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

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. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.

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.