Walter Sherman Thomas, Distribution of Child Pornography, Kentucky 2024

An Ashland man has been sentenced to 240 months in prison for his role in distributing child pornography.

Walter Sherman Thomas, 43, was sentenced on Monday by U.S. District Judge David Bunning for distribution of child pornography. According to his plea agreement, a cyber tip led law enforcement to a Reddit account that was reported for uploading child sexual abuse material.

Law enforcement searched the Reddit account and found several sexually explicit images of minors. Additionally, a Reddit chat that detailed the user's employment led law enforcement to identify Thomas as the owner of the account.

Law enforcement interviewed Thomas and searched his phones, which contained 205 sexually explicit images and 87 sexually explicit videos of minors.

Under federal law, Thomas must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence. Upon his release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for 25 years.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Ashland Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Melton is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edky/pr/ashland-man-sentenced-distribution-child-pornography