KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Thomas Allan Scarbrough, 46, of Rockwood, Tennessee, is headed to federal prison after being sentenced to 70 months for the vile crime of possessing child pornography. Senior U.S. District Judge Leon Jordan handed down the sentence on May 17, 2017, a punishment aimed at holding Scarbrough accountable for his depraved actions.
The case unfolded following an undercover investigation that led to a federal search warrant being executed on Scarbrough’s property. Authorities seized computers belonging to the defendant, and a forensic examination quickly revealed a disturbing trove of illegal content. Investigators found a large cache of digital child pornography that Scarbrough had actively downloaded from the internet, exploiting vulnerable children for his own twisted gratification.
Judge Jordan didn’t stop at imprisonment. In addition to the 70-month sentence, Scarbrough will face 10 years of supervised release upon his eventual release from prison. And the consequences don’t end there: he will be required to register as a sex offender wherever he lives, works, or studies, a permanent mark of his heinous crime.
The government also demanded restitution for the victims. Judge Jordan ordered Scarbrough to forfeit the computer used to access and store the child pornography and to pay $4,500.00 to the victims whose images were found on the device – a small measure of compensation for the irreversible harm he inflicted.
This prosecution was part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 to aggressively combat the escalating epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. PSC brings together federal, state, and local law enforcement to target predators and rescue victims. Details about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.usdoj.gov/psc. Internet safety resources are also available on the PSC website.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Knoxville Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service worked collaboratively on this investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew T. Morris skillfully prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States, securing a conviction and a sentence that reflects the gravity of Scarbrough’s crimes. This case serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing fight against online child exploitation and the dedication of law enforcement to bring perpetrators to justice.
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Key Facts
- State: Tennessee
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Sex Crimes|Cybercrime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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