A Grovetown man will spend almost eight years in federal prison after a conviction for possessing child pornography.
Robert James Thompson, 35, was sentenced to 90 months in prison after pleading guilty to possessing multiple images depicting the sexual exploitation of children, a statement from U.S. Attorney Jill E. Steinberg said.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall also ordered Thompson to pay $8,000 in restitution to his child victims and register as a sex offender. There is no parole in the federal system, and Hall sentenced Thompson to serve 15 years of supervised release after he completes his prison sentence.
“The safety of our community demands that predators like Thompson be identified and taken off the streets,” said Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. “With our law enforcement partners, we will be diligent in protecting our most vulnerable citizens.”
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children shared a cybertip with the FBI about Thompson possessing the images. Agents conducted a search of his electronic devices in July 2022 and found dozens of them. Thompson was on felony probation for burglary at the time of his arrest.
“Child pornography is abuse of society’s most vulnerable population. It is also a second victimization for a child who has already been traumatized,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta.
The case was investigated by the FBI, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremiah L. Johnson.
Anyone with information on suspected child sexual exploitation can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678, or https://report.cybertip.org/.
