A San Antonio man has been sentenced to a severe term of 17 years in federal prison after he was convicted of distributing child pornography, his fate sealed by the delivery of illicit material to an undercover Australian police officer.
Thomas Jeffrey McKissick V, aged 42, had engaged in the exchange of the prohibited content on two separate occasions, specifically on February 6 and February 7, 2022, and following a search warrant executed on March 10, 2022, authorities found a trove of over 10,000 images and close to 800 video files of child sexual abuse on his cellphone, and he was arrested the next day; he remained in federal custody until his plea of guilty on one count on March 5, 2024, as the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.
Following the sentence, which also includes a lifetime of supervised release and a restitution fine of $15,000, U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza remarked upon the importance of the cooperation between agencies, stating, "This case demonstrates that our partnerships to combat criminal activity and prosecute child predators reach far beyond our state lines and our nation’s borders," in a statement obtained by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The efforts of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Queensland Police Service were praised by Special Agent in Charge Craig Larrabee, who warned, "While this significant sentence cannot repair the permanent damage done to the children depicted in these images, it should serve as a warning to those who engage in this behavior," emphasizing the relentless pursuit of online predators by HSI and its international partners who work tirelessly to protect children and bring perpetrators to justice, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
HSI, a key entity in the Virtual Global Taskforce, along with its partners, remains dedicated to a victim-centered methodology in addressing child exploitation, focusing on identifying, rescuing, and stabilizing victims; HSI asks the public to report suspected exploitation or missing children to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The case was the result of investigative synergy between HSI and Queensland Police, reflecting a strong international collaborative effort spearheaded by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bettina Richardson, as part of the broader initiative known as Project Safe Childhood, which has marshaled resources since 2006 to battle child exploitation.
