LAFAYETTE, La. – A Youngsville man has been sentenced to 220 months in prison for his role in distributing and possessing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley.

On Thursday, Thomas Hanes, 49, of Youngsville, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell on one count of distribution and one count of possession of child pornography. He was also sentenced to 10 years of supervised release.

According to a November 7, 2016, guilty plea, Hanes was identified through an investigation as distributing thousands of files of child pornography using an online peer-to-peer network. Law enforcement agents searched his home in Youngsville on February 26, 2016, and found sexually explicit images of children as young as two and three years of age on electronic media.

Hanes’ sentencing is the result of an investigation led by Homeland Security Investigations, the Louisiana State Police, and the Youngsville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamilla A. Bynog is prosecuting the case.

As part of his sentence, Hanes will serve 18 years and four months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release. This case is a reminder that the U.S. government takes the crime of child pornography very seriously and will pursue all those who engage in it.

The U.S. government’s Project Safe Childhood initiative aims to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse nationwide. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Additionally, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) encourage the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at (866) 347-2423. Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online by visiting their website at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp or through the Operation Predator smartphone application www.ice.gov/predator/smartphone-app. Tips may be submitted anonymously.

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