Former Virginia police sergeant pleaded guilty to distributing child pornography

NORFOLK, Va. — A former police sergeant with the Portsmouth (Va.) Police Department pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Thomas Humphries, 63, of Portsmouth, faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on Oct. 18, 2011.

Humphries first came to the attention of ICE HSI on Dec. 31, 2009, when he distributed an image of child pornography by posting the image on a website known to law enforcement to be used to trade images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

The investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide ICE initiative to identify, investigate and arrest those who prey on children, including human traffickers, international sex tourists, Internet pornographers, and foreign-national predators whose crimes make them deportable.

ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.

For more information, visit www.ice.gov.