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A Park Forest man who sexually abused a younger woman in his custody for years, recording the abuse and buying and selling the pictures to gather 1000’s of kid pornography recordsdata, has been sentenced to 48 years in federal jail.
Tercalo E. Thomas, 35, obtained the sentence from U.S. District Decide Steven C. Seeger in Chicago after pleading responsible to sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of kid pornography, officers introduced Tuesday.
In line with courtroom filings, Thomas sexually abused the woman from the time she was roughly 6 years outdated till his arrest in April 2022, when she was 8. Prosecutors stated Thomas recorded the abuse and distributed these pictures to others on-line in alternate for extra baby sexual abuse materials.
When arrested, Thomas had greater than 1,500 pictures depicting baby sexual abuse on his cellular phone, based on prosecutors. The photographs primarily depicted the sufferer, but additionally included exploitative pictures of different youngsters as younger as toddlers, courtroom paperwork state.
The abuse, which occurred in each Illinois and Indiana when Thomas traveled with the woman to his sister’s home, uncovered the sufferer to a sexually transmitted illness requiring medical therapy, based on a sentencing memorandum.
“Defendant was an avid collector of kid exploitation pictures,” Assistant U.S. Lawyer Elly Moheb wrote within the authorities’s memorandum. “Unhappy by his wicked assortment, he created his personal. The seriousness of this offense can’t be overstated.”
Prosecutors had sought a 600-month sentence, the utmost underneath sentencing tips, arguing that Thomas “leveraged the place of belief he had with the kid and used her to supply sexually express pictures and movies.”
In a protection memorandum, lawyer John Miraglia argued for a mid-range sentence, noting Thomas had no felony historical past, had participated in self-awareness counseling different whereas in custody, and expressed regret for his actions.
The protection submitting acknowledged Thomas “has had a extreme habit to grownup pornography” and stated he had researched remedy choices for viewing baby pornography earlier than his arrest however was deterred by program statements about potential felony prosecution primarily based on admissions.
Anybody who believes they or somebody they know could also be a sufferer of sexual exploitation is inspired to contact the Nationwide Heart for Lacking and Exploited Youngsters at www.missingkids.com or 1-800-843-5678. The service is accessible 24 hours a day.
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