Anthony Laquinn Thomas, Sex Exploitation of a Child, Indiana 2020

A Greensburg, Indiana man has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for sexually exploiting a minor, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana announced.

Anthony Laquinn Thomas, 53, was sentenced late yesterday to 30 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to sexual exploitation of a child.

The charges stem from an investigation that began on April 24, 2019, when police went to the residence of Minor Victim 1 to check her welfare because Minor Victim 1’s mother was concerned when she learned Minor Victim 1 was not in school.

Minor Victim 1 was under thirteen years old at the time. Law enforcement officers located Minor Victim 1 and she spoke to police and was later interviewed at a Children’s Advocacy Center.

Minor Victim 1 disclosed 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’s residence was conducted, and Thomas was placed under arrest after police found evidence of methamphetamine use in the home.

Thomas 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.

As part of the sentence, U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus-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 Minor Victim 1.

Thomas must also register as a sex offender wherever he lives, works, or goes to school, as required by law.

The U.S. Secret Service, Indiana State Police, and Greensburg Police Department investigated the case, with assistance from the Decatur County Probation Office and Decatur County Prosecutor’s Office.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the federal government to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

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