Texas man sentenced to 30 years in prison for attempting to make a sexually explicit video of a minor

LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Texas man was sentenced Wednesday to 360 months in prison for attempting to use a child to make a sexually explicit video and attempting to persuade the child’s mother to allow him to sexually exploit the child.

Mark Anthony Thompson, 49, of Richmond, Texas, was sentenced by U.S District Judge Patricia Minaldi on one count of attempting to use a child to produce child pornography and one count of attempting to entice a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity. He was also sentenced to 10 years of supervised release, which includes sex offender monitoring and is required to register as a sex offender. Evidence presented during the four-day trial revealed that Thompson persuaded a Louisiana mother to use her child to produce a sexually explicit video.  Thompson also tried to sexually exploit the child. In December of 2013, the victim’s father found disturbing messages, pictures and a video sent from the defendant to the wife’s phone. The father then reported the matter to the DeRidder Police Department.

Homeland Security Investigations, the DeRidder Police Department, Louisiana State Police and the Louisiana Department of Social Services conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Myers P. Namie and John Luke Walker prosecuted the case.

“This case is disturbing in many ways, but it is also an example of how continued exploitation of children can be stopped,” Finley stated. “I want to encourage all victims of sexual abuse to speak up and know that there is help. We will continue to prosecute these cases and never take exploitation of children lightly. I want to thank the prosecutors and the state, local and federal law enforcement officers who worked diligently to ensure that justice was served in this case. ”

“Child sexual abuse is one of the most heinous crimes HSI investigates as it steals the innocence of children and leaves lasting scars on victims,” said Raymond R. Parmer Jr., special agent in charge of HSI New Orleans. “Criminals who prey on children will continue to be one of the agency’s highest priorities in order to protect the innocent from these terrible crimes.”

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Homeland Security Investigations/Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) also encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at (866) DHS-2ICE.  Investigators are available at all hours to answer hotline calls. Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online by visiting their website at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp or through the Operation Predator smartphone application (http://www.ice.gov/predator/smartphone-app). Tips also may be submitted anonymously.