Fort Stockton Man Found Guilty of Distributing Child Pornography

PECOS – Yesterday, a federal jury convicted Thomas Scott Perkins, 31, of Fort Stockton on child pornography charges.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents determined through investigation that Perkins was sharing child pornography online.  A search warrant was executed at Perkins’ residence and multiple hard drive devices were discovered that contained 95,316 images and 1,237 videos of child pornography.

Perkins was found guilty of one count of distribution of child pornography and eight counts of possession of child pornography.  He is scheduled for sentencing on October 24, 2022 and faces up to 20 years in prison on the distribution count and up to 10 years in prison on each of the possession counts.  Perkins has remained in federal custody since his arrest on September 14, 2020.

U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff of the Western District of Texas and HSI Special Agent in Charge Frank Burrola, El Paso Division, made the announcement.

HSI, with assistance from the FBI, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Public Safety, is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott V. Greenbaum and Kevin Cayton are prosecuting 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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and 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.justice.gov/psc.

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