Texan Gets Life For Internet Child Porn
Originally published by the United Press International, August 6, 2001
FORT WORTH, Texas, Aug. 6 (UPI) — A federal judge Monday sentenced the 37-year-old ringleader of an Internet child pornography network to spend the rest of his life in prison.
U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means sentenced Thomas Reedy, 37, of Fort Worth, to 180 months on each of 89 child pornography charges, a total of 1,335 years in prison. Means sentenced Reedy's 32-year-old wife Janice to 14 years in prison on 87 charges for acting as bookkeeper for the operation. They were convicted in December.
Along with the Reedys, foreign webmasters, R.W. Kusuma and Hanny Ingganata of Indonesia and Boris Greenberg of Russia, were also indicted in April 2000 on child pornography charges. Warrants have been issued for their arrest and extradition will be sought.
U.S. Attorney Richard H. Stephens applauded the tough sentence.
"The Reedys lived a life of luxury on the backs of the poor children they exploited. Their conduct mandated the tough sentences they received," he said.
The Reedy's company, Landslide, Inc., was also convicted in December on 89 counts and sentenced Monday to pay a $6.9 million fine by Judge Means.
Thomas Reedy has been in custody since his conviction and his wife was taken into custody Monday following the sentencing.
The Reedys' company provided a credit card verification service that served as an electronic gateway to the pictures and movies of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct at the Web sites maintained by Kusuma, Ingganata, and Greenberg, according to court evidence.
Internet customers were required to provide a credit card number as well as a charge authorization in order to gain access by a user name and password to the pornographic productions on the Web sites. Each customer was charged $29.95 a month.
In 1997 and 1998, the Reedy's company netted more than $1 million and they paid two thirds of the money they collected to the three Web masters, according to court testimony.
When the Fort Worth-based business was raided in 1999, federal agents said they found a well-organized operation with more than a dozen employees, including a computer programmer, customer service representative and a receptionist.
