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New York resident Christopher Thomas, age 40, of Colonie in Albany County, was sentenced to 40 years behind bars Monday, Oct. 30, in Albany federal court.
According to prosecutors, Thomas coerced numerous vulnerable children and young women, some as young as 16, to engage in sex work for his financial benefit between 2018 and 2020.
His crimes spanned New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont.
In March 2023, following a 5-day trial, jurors convicted Thomas of 16 counts, including sexual exploitation of a child, distribution of child pornography, and tampering with a witness.
At Monday’s sentencing, US District Judge Mae D’Agostino told Thomas it takes “a very special kind of evil” to sex traffic children.
“You consider these people useless, throwaways. In your mind they are of no value,” she said. “But they were someone’s child, sister, granddaughter and they had as much a right to live a life free of this type of abuse as anyone else.”
Once he's released from prison, Thomas will spend the rest of his life on supervised release. He must also register as a sex offender.
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