Richmond Attorney Sentenced for Receipt of Child Pornography

RICHMOND, VA—Thomas Johnston, 63, of Richmond, Va., was sentenced today by United States District Judge Henry H. Hudson to 72 months’ incarceration for one count of Receipt of Child Pornography.  Johnston pled guilty to the charge on July 2, 2009. Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Jennifer Love, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Richmond Field Office announced the sentence.

According to court documents FBI agents determined that Johnston was making child pornography images available for download using peer-to-peer file sharing software. During this time, Johnston was an attorney with Canfield, Baer, Heller & Johnston, in Richmond Virginia. In August 2008, FBI agents executed a search warrant at the law firm and seized two of Johnston’s computers. An examination of the computers disclosed hundreds of still images and several videos of child pornography, some of which were acquired using peer-to-peer file sharing software.  

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth C. Wu is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.