Former Kinston Fire Captain And Reserve Deputy With The Greene County Sheriff’s Office Sentenced To 188 Months In Child Pornography Case

RALEIGH – United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced that in federal court today, Chief United States District Judge James C. Dever, III, sentenced THOMAS ANDREW TAYLOR, 53, of Grifton, to 188 months imprisonment followed by 15 years of supervised release. 

On February 3, 2014, TAYLOR was named in a Criminal Information charging him with one count of Receipt of Child Pornography in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a)(2).  On March 26, 2014, TAYLOR pled guilty to that charge.

According to the investigation, in September of 2012, law enforcement in Philadelphia identified TAYLOR as an individual using a screen name to post pornographic images of children.  On January 11, 2013, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) notified law enforcement that a subject later identified as TAYLOR, accessed Facebook and posted an image  of child pornography on December 22, 2012.  Facebook reported the image to NCMEC on December 25, 2012.  A search warrant was executed at TAYLOR’S residence on May 31, 2013, and he agreed to a noncustodial interview.  During that interview, TAYLOR admitted using his laptop computer, as well as his Yahoo! and Gmail accounts, to trade child pornography with others.  On the way to the interview, TAYLOR attempted to destroy evidence by throwing a laptop into a creek off Highway 58 North in Kinston. However, the computer was recovered and was processed for evidence.  A subsequent forensic examination revealed that TAYLOR’S child pornography collection included 334 images and 34 videos. 

The criminal investigation of this case was conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Federal Bureau of Investigation, North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement, and the Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant United States Attorney Ethan A. Ontjes is handling the prosecution on behalf of the Eastern District of North Carolina.

This case was part of the Project Safe Childhood initiative, a national program aimed at ensuring that criminals exploiting children are effectively prosecuted by making full use of all available law enforcement resources at every level.  For more information about this important national project, Project Safe Childhood, go to www.projectsafechildhood.gov.