October 24, 2019 a federal jury convicted Thomas Noble, 71, on charges of possession and attempted receipt of child pornography.
Thomas had previously been convicted in the State of Delaware for possessing child pornography. His term of probation for that conviction had ended less than six months before Delaware State Police executed their search warrant.
In 2017, a search warrant was executed at the home of Thomas in New Castle, Delaware. Officers found Noble’s personal computer actively downloading child pornography files through a peer-to-peer file sharing network called BitTorrent. A forensic examination of Noble’s computer found hundreds of files of child pornography.
Noble faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison when sentenced February 26, 2020. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
David C. Weiss, U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware stated:
“Crimes involving child sexual exploitation continue to victimize innocent children and my office will prosecute any such crimes to the fullest extent of the law.”
In November 2013, Noble was charged with 26 counts of dealing in child porn, which stemmed from an undercover investigation. He was convicted of the charges.
