Acting United States Attorney Ellison C. Travis announced that Thomas Mills V, 58, from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography before U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles. This plea was entered after a jury trial had commenced.
On October 22, 2018, officers from the Zachary Police Department responded to a call about a suspicious vehicle on Highway 19. An anonymous tip led them to an alley behind a party store where they found Mills in a 2008 Honda Fit. Mills initially claimed he was cleaning his car and using the internet for emails. He presented his Louisiana driver's license showing him as a Baton Rouge resident and registered sex offender.
Officers suspected Mills might be violating state sex offender registration laws due to conflicting information about his residence. Despite being asked to stay by the patrol vehicles while officers verified his details, Mills repeatedly moved towards his car. Officers noticed a laptop and USB device inside the vehicle.
A criminal history check revealed Mills had a prior federal felony conviction for possession of child pornography in 2012. Upon learning this, officers contacted Mills' probation officer who confirmed that possessing electronic devices violated his supervised release conditions and requested their seizure.
Officers secured approximately nineteen electronic devices from Mills' vehicle for forensic analysis by U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services. The examination uncovered around 1,325 pictures and six videos depicting child exploitation images.
In 2013, Mills received a sentence of 62 months imprisonment for his previous conviction related to child pornography possession.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Eli J. Abad and Ben Wallace following an investigation by the Zachary Police Department.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse online through coordinated efforts among federal, state, and local resources.
