Tampa, Florida -U.S. District Judge James S. Moody, Jr. has sentenced Clayton Junior Thornburg (55, Iuka, Mississippi) to 28 years in federal prison for attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity, attempting to transfer obscene material to a minor, transporting child pornography, and being a registered sex offender who committed another sex offense involving a minor.
Judge Moody found him guilty on November 7, 2017, following a bench trial.
According to evidence presented during the trial, between August and November 2015, Thornburg communicated online with an undercover agent who he believed was a 13-year-old girl. He repeatedly expressed explicit interest in having sex with the “child," and he sent multiple pornographic images and videos to illustrate what “it’s like for a young girl to have sex." Thornburg is a two-time convicted sex offender and was on probation in Illinois for possession of child pornography at the time of the offenses in this case.
“This case should reassure the public that HSI is paying close attention to the safety of our children," said HSI Tampa Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero. “HSI special agents will continue to take child predators off our streets."
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa M. Thelwell.
It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, 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 United States Attorneys Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood 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 Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
