Thomas Yu, age 31, of Falls Church, Va., was sentenced today to 84 months in prison by the Honorable District Court Judge Gerald Bruce Lee. Upon his release, Yu will remain under supervised release for a term of 7 years. Yu will also be required to register as a sex offender in any U.S. jurisdiction in which he lives, works or attends school. On Feb. 9, 2009, after a three-day jury trial, Yu was found guilty of possession, receipt and distribution of child pornography.
Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and James Dinkins, Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s Office of Investigations in Washington, D.C., made the announcement.
According to court proceedings, in July 2006, Yu distributed and received multiple images of child pornography over the internet. In February 2007, investigators executed a search warrant at Yu’s residence and seized multiple computers and computer equipment from his bedroom. A forensic analysis of this computer equipment revealed thousands of images and several movies of child pornography and child erotica.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Assistant United States Attorney Jay Prabhu and Special Assistant United States Attorney Andrew McCormack, who is on detail from the Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, prosecuted the case for the United States.
