Portland Man Sentenced to Six Years on Child Pornography Charges
A 20-year-old Portland man has been sentenced to six years in prison for his role in sharing and possessing child pornography.
Anthony Thea, 20, of Portland, Maine, was sentenced in U.S. District Court by Judge Jon D. Levy to six years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release for transportation and possession of child pornography. Thea was also ordered to pay $1,500 in restitution.
According to court records, in August 2014, an undercover federal agent identified a computer later traced to Thea making images of child pornography available for download via a peer-to-peer file sharing program. On October 9, 2014, federal agents executed a search warrant at an apartment in South Portland where Thea occasionally stayed and seized a laptop.
Thea admitted owning the laptop and using a peer-to-peer file sharing program to download images of child pornography. He also said that he had used his cellular telephone to make video recordings of minors in public restrooms and saved them on his computer. A forensic analysis of the laptop’s hard drive revealed 2,680 still images and 903 videos of child pornography and about 80 digital recordings of minor males urinating in restrooms that Thea recorded between June 2011 and May 2013 without the knowledge or consent of the victims.
“HSI investigations involving child exploitation fall under Operation Predator, and this case is a clear demonstration of why we use the term predator for those who seek to victimize the innocent,” said Bruce Foucart, special agent in charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New England.
The investigation was conducted by HSI, with the assistance of the South Portland Police Department. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the government to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Related Federal Cases
- Ernest R. Cook, Child Pornography Possession, Maine 2023 · Massachusetts
- Steven Tutt, Child Pornography Possession, Maine 2024 · Maine
- Joshua Harrison, Child Pornography Possession, Maine 2023 · Georgia
- Douglas Blodgett, Accessing Child Pornography with Intent to View, Maine 2023 · New Mexico
- Zane Wetzel, Possession of Child Pornography, Maine 2015 · Maine
Key Facts
- State: Maine
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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