West Virginia Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Distributing and Possessing Child Pornography

Charleston, South Carolina --- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that Thomas Owen Haynes II, 47, of Bluefield, West Virginia, formerly of Ladson, South Carolina, was sentenced to five years in federal prison for distribution, receipt, and possession of child pornography. 

According to court documents, the Department of Justice’s Internet Crimes Against Children task force (ICAC) sent a lead to the Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which then obtained evidence that Haynes had been using his cell phone to view, receive, and distribute images and videos of child pornography. 

Haynes pled guilty, and United States District Court Judge David C. Norton sentenced him to 60 months imprisonment.  There is no parole in the federal system.  After Haynes is released from prison, he will be under court-ordered supervision for life.  

The conviction is the result of an investigation conducted by the Department of Homeland Security Investigations.  Assistant United States Attorney Nathan Williams of the Charleston office prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov. 

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