A repeat offender has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for receipt of child pornography in the Western District of North Carolina.
Nathaniel Guru Thompson, 31, of Asheville, North Carolina, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for receipt of child pornography. He was also ordered to serve a lifetime of supervised release and to register as a sex offender after he is released from prison.
“Thompson is the type of criminal that needs to be removed from society and put into a prison cell, where he can no longer harm children,” said Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. “There is a misconception among some that viewing child pornography is a lesser offense. Let me set the record straight: viewing, sharing, or receiving images that depict children being sexually abused is a crime that is just as serious and heinous as those who perpetrate the depicted sexual abuse on the children.”
According to court documents and information introduced at the sentencing hearing, Thompson was convicted in 2011 in the Western District of North Carolina of possession of child pornography. As part of his sentence, the Court ordered Thompson to serve a lifetime of federal supervised release.
On July 10, 2017, law enforcement located at Thompson’s residence an internet-enabled cell phone, which was in violation of the terms of his supervised release. After conducting a full forensic analysis of Thompson’s cell phone and a removable storage card, law enforcement determined that Thompson possessed more than 1,380 images of child pornography, and over 72 child pornography videos.
Thompson pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography in March 2018. He is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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