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Man sentenced for abusing child sexually, child pornography

Documents said Derek Thomas, 26, went to North Carolina to have sex with a 14-year-old. He exchanged nude images with another child.
Credit: Western Tidewater Regional Jail
Derek Edward Thomas

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A Williamsburg man was sentenced on Friday to six years in prison for traveling to North Carolina to sexually abuse a child and receiving child pornography from a child in Nebraska.

Court documents said 26-year-old Derek Thomas met Jane Doe #1 online and began a relationship during the summer of 2018 when she was 14 years old. During the summer, both Jane Doe #1 and Thomas sent nude photos of themselves to each other over social media.

Eventually, Thomas traveled to North Carolina to engage in sexual activities with the child. During the same summer, he met Jane Doe #2 online.

Credit: Western Tidewater Regional Jail
Derek Edward Thomas

Court documents said Jane Doe #2 and Thomas sent nude images of themselves to one another.

Thomas knew the age of each victim before engaging in criminal activity with the children. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. 

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