Corbin Man Sentenced for Attempted Production of Child Pornography

LONDON, Ky. - A Somerset, Ky., man, BJ Thomason, 38, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Robert Wier for the attempted production of child pornography.

On June 13, 2022, Thomason attempted to persuade a minor victim to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of that conduct. Specifically, Thomason, utilized the TextNow messaging service to contact the minor victim. In a series of conversations, Thomason requested the minor victim send him sexually explicit pictures of the victim, after Thomason sent multiple sexually explicit pictures of himself.

Jason Parman, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; and Olivia Olson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Louisville Field Office, jointly announced the sentence.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Blankenship prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

This case was prosecuted 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 the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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.projectsafechildhood.govLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link..

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