Retired south Texas high school teacher sentenced to 8 years in federal prison for possessing child pornography
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A retired high school teacher was sentenced Thursday to eight years in federal prison for possessing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas.
This investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and Corpus Christi Police Department's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Thomas Thompson, 66, of Alice, Texas, was sentenced Dec. 11 to 96 months in federal prison, along with a lifetime of supervised release and registration as a sex offender. Additional charges against Thompson are pending with the state court for molesting his granddaughter.
On March 28, authorities learned of sexual assault allegations involving Thompson and a child victim. Thompson, a retired high school teacher, admitted to sexually assaulting the victim, at which time authorities conducted a search and seized Thompson's computer. A forensic examination of the computer led to the discovery of 1,121 child pornography images. Thompson admitted he possessed these images. He pleaded guilty Aug. 29 to charges of possessing child pornography.
"All children have an absolute right to grow up free from the fear of sexual abuse and exploitation," said Brian M. Moskowitz, special agent in charge of HSI Houston. "HSI will relentlessly pursue those who abuse our kids, regardless of whether that abuse is physical in nature or if it's accomplished through exploiting their captured images."
Thompson will remain in federal custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Hugo R. Martinez, Southern District of Texas, is prosecuting this case.
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 12,000 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 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.
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