Thomas M. Elgert Sentenced in U.S. District Court
| U.S. Attorney’s Office May 06, 2010 |
The United States Attorney’s Office announced that during a federal court session in Helena, on May 6, 2010, before Senior U.S. District Judge Charles C. Lovell, THOMAS M. ELGERT, a 65-year-old resident of Hillsdale, New Jersey, appeared for sentencing. ELGERT was sentenced to a term of:
- Prison: 180 months
- Special Assessment: $400
- Fine: $25,000
- Forfeiture: computer equipment
- Supervised Release: life
ELGERT was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to attempted sexual exploitation of children and distribution of child pornography.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcia K. Hurd is the prosecutor for the United States.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the “truth in sentencing” guidelines mandate that ELGERT will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, ELGERT does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for “good behavior.” However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Helena Police Department, the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.