DENVER -- Gregory Lynn Hopson, age 44, of Westminster, Colorado, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Lewis T. Babcock to serve 420 months (35 years) in federal prison for the transportation and possession of child pornography, to run concurrently with a Colorado state prison sentence for a prior felony conviction of sex assault on a child by a person in a position of trust, U.S. Attorney John Walsh and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge David Thompson announced. Following his prison sentence, Hopson was ordered to serve lifetime supervised release, and register as a sex offender. He was also ordered to pay restitution to the victim of his crime. Hopson, who appeared at the hearing in custody, was remanded at its conclusion.
Hopson was indicted by a federal grand jury on Oct. 24, 2012. On Sept. 25, 2013, Hopson was named in a superseding indictment. On Sept. 29, 2014, Hopson pled guilty before Judge Babcock to the transportation and possession of child pornography. He was sentenced today, Dec. 23, 2014. Hopson is currently serving a state prison sentence of 16 years to life for his second violation of probation for a sex assault on a child conviction out of Boulder County, Colorado.
According to the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreement, on March 5, 2011, special agents from ICE executed a search warrant at an address in Westminster. A resident at the address in question was a registered sex offender, on probation for sex assault on a child by a person in a position of trust in 2000. The defendant had admitted in that case to sexually abusing two children under the age of 12.
During the search HSI agents seized a computer and CD-ROMs. After un-encrypting the data, agents found a well-organized collection of thousands of images and videos of child pornography. The material depicted children as young as infants being sexually abused. One of the CD-ROMs contained images and videos of a minor child under the age of 12 with whom the defendant was in a position of trust. The images depicted the defendant engaged in sexually explicit conduct with the child or depicted the child’s genitalia in a lewd and lascivious way. It was further determined that Hopson exchanged child pornography with others. HSI agents uncovered approximately 300 emails that the defendant had sent or received - and attached to those emails were approximately 1,700 images and videos of child pornography.
“Defendant Hopson, by his repeated acts of victimization and criminal conduct, has made clear that he poses a real and present danger to children and to society," said U.S. Attorney John Walsh. “The sentence imposed today will neutralize this dangerous perpetrator for 35 years and is a true victory for the community and for Colorado’s children."
“Insidious crimes like this steal the innocence and youth of our nation’s children," said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “The Department of Justice is committed to investigating, prosecuting and incapacitating those who prey upon the most vulnerable members of our society."
“Anyone who collects and shares child pornography victimizes the most innocent and most vulnerable members of our society," said Special Agent in Charge David Thompson, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Denver. “This lengthy prison sentence recognizes the trauma that predators inflict on helpless children."
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Hopson was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney and Chief of the Special Prosecutions Section, Judith A. Smith, Assistant U.S. Attorney Beth N. Gibson, and Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section Trial Attorney Keith Becker.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s? Offices and the Criminal Division?s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ For more information about Internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab ?resources.?
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
