BIRMINGHAM - A federal judge today sentenced a Lamar County man to 15 years and eight months in prison for transporting child pornography by cell phone text message, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance.

U.S. District Judge Inge P. Johnson sentenced THOMAS ROGER SKELTON, 40, to prison and ordered him to serve supervised release for the rest of his life after completing the prison term.  He will be required to register as a sex offender.

According to court documents, between June 26, 2009, and Nov. 10, 2009, SKELTON used  cell phones to communicate with a person in Utah and, during the communication, sent various images of child pornography via text messages.  He also requested that the person in Utah take nude photographs of her granddaughters and offered to pay her $300 to $500 for each photograph.

“A defendant who seeks to view children being violated, offers to pay for that horror, and then continues to exploit those children by transporting images of child pornography to others deserves a long term in prison,” Vance said. “It should send a message that these devastating criminal acts on children will be fought, prosecuted and punished.”

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Lamar County Sheriff’s Office and the Salt Lake County, Utah, Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel J. Fortune and Mary Anne Gallagher prosecuted the case.

 

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