From staff reports
A 41-year-old Parker man pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of violating federal laws relating to the sexual exploitation of children, acting U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti announced.
Thomas Robert Hawk pleaded guilty to one count before U.S. District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.
In connection with the guilty plea, the release said, the court was advised that from August 2021 to May 2022, Hawk possessed and accessed with intent to view visual images and videos in individual digital files depicting prepubescent minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
As part of his plea agreement, the release said, Hawk agreed he had violated the conditions of his federal supervised release, which he was serving for a prior federal conviction for receiving child sexual abuse material. Hawk also agreed as part of his guilty plea to a sentence of 11 years imprisonment to be followed by 10 years of supervised release.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian A. Trabold is prosecuting this case. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Probation conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Hawk.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse, the release said.
Led by the U.S. 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, visit www.justice.gov/psc.
