55-Year Sentence Imposed on Columbus Man Convicted of Sex Crimes Against Child

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Thomas A. Sweeney, 49, of Columbus was sentenced to serve 45 years in prison for committing sex crimes involving a 14-year old female.

Vipal Patel, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Steve Francis, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin and other members of the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson.

After a three-day trial, A U.S. District Court jury convicted Sweeney on January 20, 2017 of sexual exploitation of a minor, attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, receipt of child pornography and committing a sexual offense against as minor as a registered sex offender. Judge Watson sentenced Sweeney to a 45-year prison term on each of the first three crimes and ordered him to serve them concurrently, plus an additional ten years for committing a sexual offense against a minor as a registered sex offender.

According to court documents and trial testimony, Sweeney communicated with his then-14-year-old biological daughter via cellular phone and convinced her to send him photographs of her nude genitalia via text message. He also attempted to convince her to meet with him for purposes of the two engaging in sexual acts.

Sweeney had been convicted in 2004 in Franklin County Common Pleas Court for two counts of rape involving a minor. He was sentenced to two consecutive terms of five years in prison for that conviction.

Sweeney was charged by a criminal complaint in this case on February 11, 2016 and was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 31, 2016 and in a superseding indictment on January 12, 2017.

This case was prosecuted by United States Attorney Benjamin C. Glassman and Assistant United States Attorney Heather A. Hill. It was investigated by Franklin County ICAC Task Force members.

“Sweeney has proven himself to be a true predator,” Patel said. “The most significant outcome of the case is that the public is protected from future crimes by him.”

“The sentence handed down today should send a clear message about the harsh consequences that await child predators," said Steve Francis, special agent in charge of HSI, "This case is yet another example of the extraordinary collaborative efforts among our law enforcement partners with the ICAC, and our resolve to protect the most vulnerable among us."

The Franklin County ICAC Task Force is a multi-agency effort dedicated to the fight against computer facilitated crimes against children. In addition to HSI and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, the following agencies are members of the task force: Ohio ICAC, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation in Attorney General Mike DeWine’s Office, Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien’s Office, the Delaware and Pickaway county Sheriff’s offices and the police departments in Circleville, Columbus, Grandview, Grove City, Hilliard, The Ohio State University, Upper Arlington and Westerville.