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A U.S. Department of Homeland Security agent discovered potential images of child exploitation on Perkins’s iPad.
By Forum Staff
A commercial airline pilot from Frisco, Texas, has been convicted of having videos that depict the sexual exploitation of two girls, each under the age of sixteen.
Thomas Perkins, 39, was the subject of a border search at JFK Airport on April 18, 2014, after the plane he flew from Montreal arrived in New York City. An inspection of his iPad revealed possible child pornography images.
“The defendant has been convicted of possessing disturbing videos of young girls being sexually degraded,” said District Attorney Brown. “As I have previously stressed, it is important for the public to remember that these videos are, for all intents and purposes, footage of crime scenes as they depict real children being cruelly victimized both physically and emotionally and who will have to carry the painful memory of that which occurred to them for the rest of their lives.”
Perkins was convicted of two counts of possessing videos of a sexual performance by a child following a two-week jury. Perkins, who has been out on $50,000 bail, was ordered remanded and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 6, at which time he faces up to four years in prison.
According to trial testimony, Perkins, who was employed by Republic Airways, which flies various regional routes under the Delta Connection banner, arrived at JFK on April 18, 2014, after co-piloting a Delta Connection flight from Montreal, Canada.
In going through border security, an iPad belonging to Perkins was inspected by a U.S. Department of Homeland Security agent who discovered potential images of child exploitation. Thereafter, a forensic analysis of the iPad revealed two videos of child pornography involving young girls.
The investigation was conducted by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations special agents.
