A Park Forest man who sexually abused a young girl in his custody for years, recording the abuse and trading the images to collect thousands of child pornography files, has been sentenced to 48 years in federal prison.
Tercalo E. Thomas, 35, received the sentence from U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger in Chicago after pleading guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of child pornography, officials announced Tuesday.
According to court filings, Thomas sexually abused the girl from the time she was approximately 6 years old until his arrest in April 2022, when she was 8. Prosecutors said Thomas recorded the abuse and distributed those images to others online in exchange for additional child sexual abuse material.
When arrested, Thomas had more than 1,500 images depicting child sexual abuse on his cell phone, according to prosecutors. The images primarily depicted the victim, but also included exploitative images of other children as young as toddlers, court documents state.
The abuse, which occurred in both Illinois and Indiana when Thomas traveled with the girl to his sister’s house, exposed the victim to a sexually transmitted disease requiring medical treatment, according to a sentencing memorandum.
“Defendant was an avid collector of child exploitation images,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Elly Moheb wrote in the government’s memorandum. “Unsatisfied by his depraved collection, he created his own. The seriousness of this offense cannot be overstated.”
Prosecutors had sought a 600-month sentence, the maximum under sentencing guidelines, arguing that Thomas “leveraged the position of trust he had with the child and used her to produce sexually explicit images and videos.”
In a defense memorandum, attorney John Miraglia argued for a mid-range sentence, noting Thomas had no criminal history, had participated in self-awareness counseling other while in custody, and expressed remorse for his actions.
The defense filing acknowledged Thomas “has had a severe addiction to adult pornography” and said he had researched therapy options for viewing child pornography before his arrest but was deterred by program statements about potential criminal prosecution based on admissions.
Anyone who believes they or someone they know may be a victim of sexual exploitation is encouraged to contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at www.missingkids.com or 1-800-843-5678. The service is available 24 hours a day.
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