CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Charleston man is being sentenced to four years in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release for the possession of child pornography.
Cory Thomas, 33, of Charleston was sentenced Thursday. He will also have to register as a sex offender.
Court documents and statements made in court revealed that on February 7th, police officers executed a search warrant at Thomas’ Charleston home and seized his cell phone and other electronic devices.
After analyzing those devices, it was discovered that there were at least 109 digital files of child sexual abuse material, 75 of which were videos. The images and videos depicted prepubescent minors being subjected to sadistic or masochistic conduct and the exploitation of toddlers.
Thomas was working through a subcontractor as a counselor at a public elementary school at the time of his arrest. He had previously been employed as a substitute teacher.
The investigation did not indicate whether any criminal conduct had occurred with students from any of Thomas’ workplaces.
United State Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for their investigative work.
U.S. District Judge Irene Berger imposed the sentence and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Redmon prosecuted the case.