KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On November 30, 2018, Thomas Andrew Malotte, 54, of Sevierville, Tennessee, was sentenced by the Honorable Thomas A. Varlan, Chief U.S. District Judge, to serve 130 months in federal prison for possessing child pornography. 

Upon his release from prison, Malotte will be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 10 years and be required to register with the sex offender registry in any state in which he resides, works, or attends school.  Malotte was also ordered to pay $500 to each of his victims and forfeit his computer equipment used to obtain, store and access the illegal materials online.

Malotte pleaded guilty to a federal indictment in April 2018.  Agents of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force ICAC) identified Malotte as a distributor of child pornography during online undercover operations.

This investigation was conducted by the Knoxville Police Department’s ICAC.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Bart Slabbekorn represented the United States in court proceedings.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.