An Ashland resident, Walter Sherman Thomas, aged 43, received a sentence of 240 months in prison for distributing child pornography. U.S. District Judge David Bunning delivered the sentence on Monday.
The case originated from a cyber tip that led law enforcement to a Reddit account flagged for uploading child sexual abuse material. Upon investigation, authorities discovered several explicit images of minors on the account. Further examination of a Reddit chat helped identify Thomas as the account owner through details about his employment. A search of Thomas's phones revealed 205 sexually explicit images and 87 videos involving minors.
Under federal law, Thomas is required to serve at least 85 percent of his prison term. Following his release, he will be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for an additional 25 years.
Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Michael Stansbury, Special Agent in Charge at the FBI Louisville Field Office; and Chief William Todd Kelley from the Ashland Police Department jointly announced the sentencing.
The FBI and Ashland Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Melton is prosecuting the case.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative started in 2006 by the Department of Justice to address child sexual exploitation and abuse online. The project coordinates resources across federal, state, and local levels to apprehend offenders and rescue victims. More information can be found at www.projectsafechildhood.gov.