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. The plea was entered before U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles after a jury trial had commenced.
According to the details shared during his plea, on October 22, 2018, officers from the Zachary Police Department responded to a call about a suspicious vehicle on Highway 19. An anonymous tip indicated an unknown male parked in an alley behind a party store. Upon arrival, officers found Mills as the driver and sole occupant of a 2008 Honda Fit. Initially claiming he was cleaning his car and using the internet for emails, Mills presented his Louisiana driver’s license showing he was a Baton Rouge resident and registered sex offender.
Mills’ claim of residing in Zachary raised suspicions of violating state sex offender registration laws since he was registered in Baton Rouge. Officers noted Mills’ nervous behavior during questioning and observed him moving towards his vehicle despite instructions to stay by the patrol car.
Officers saw a laptop on the driver’s side floorboard and a USB device on the passenger seat while verifying Mills’ information. A criminal history check revealed Mills had a previous federal felony conviction for possession of child pornography in 2012.
Upon contacting Mills’ probation officer, it was confirmed that possessing electronic devices violated his supervised release conditions. Officers seized approximately nineteen electronic devices from Mills’ vehicle after securing him inside their unit.
A forensic analysis conducted by U.S. Probation and Pretrial revealed around 1,325 pictures and six videos depicting child exploitation images among the seized devices.
In 2013, Mills received a sentence of 62 months imprisonment for his earlier 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 case is part of Project Safe Childhood, initiated by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse nationwide through coordinated efforts at federal, state, and local levels aimed at apprehending offenders exploiting children online and rescuing victims.
