Indianapolis, IN — A 53-year-old Greensburg man has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to sexual exploitation of a child.
Charges against Anthony Laquinn Thomas stemmed from an investigation that began in April 2019, when a mother told police her child, who was under the age of 13, was not in school.
The victim was interviewed at a Children’s Advocacy Center and told investigators that Thomas sexually abused her and used his cell phone to take naked pictures of her, and show her pornographic images.
A probation search of Thomas’ residence was conducted, and he was arrested after police found evidence of methamphetamine use in the home.
Thomas’ two cell phones were seized by police and searched.
They found a number of images on both phones of the minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Thomas’ Google account was also searched by police, and investigators say it revealed nine images of the victim engaged in sex acts.
He was on probation at the time of these offenses and had failed a recent drug screen. Thomas has a lengthy criminal history with convictions including drug dealing, drug possession, and battery of a child.
Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana; Jeffrey Adams, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service; Indiana State Police Superintendent Douglas G. Carter, and Greensburg Police Chief Mike McNealy made the announcement.
The U.S. Secret Service, Indiana State Police, and Greensburg Police Department investigated the case.
The Decatur County Probation Office and Decatur County Prosecutor’s Office assisted in the investigation.
The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson.
As part of the sentence, Judge Stinson ordered that Thomas be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 10 years following his release from federal prison and ordered Thomas to pay $10,000 in restitution to the victim.
Thomas was also ordered to register as a sex offender.
U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristina M. Korobov who prosecuted this case.
In fiscal year 2019, the most recent year for which data is available, the Southern District of Indiana was second out of the 94 federal districts in the country for the number of child sexual exploitation cases prosecuted.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit justice.gov/psc.
