A federal judge in Texarkana is expected to rule this morning on the punishment a local man should receive in connection with child pornography and the sexual and physical abuse of minors.
U.S. District Judge Susan Hickey heard graphic testimony throughout the day Tuesday concerning the sentence Nathan Karl Thomas, 25, should receive. Thomas pleaded guilty March 31, 2016, to a felony information charging him with two counts of receiving child pornography in the Texarkana Division of the Western District of Arkansas.
However, testimony elicited in court Tuesday alleges Thomas is guilty of many more crimes involving the physical and sexual exploitation of children.
"The defendant's conduct with (a 14-year-old girl) underscores his indifference to another person's physical pain and suffering. It also highlights his obsession with psychological and sexual control of a person not near his equal in age, education or life experience," states a sentencing memorandum filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyra Jenner. "The defendant used a minor to produce, view and disseminate child pornography. The defendant did not simply break federal laws himself; he conscripted others to break the law with him and for him."
Among the witnesses to testify was Haidy Noel Branson, 26, who is serving a 21 years and 10 months for producing child pornography. Branson was sentenced in 2015 by U.S. District Judge Robert Schroeder III in the Texarkana Division of the Eastern District of Texas.
Branson filmed herself performing sexual acts on a 2- to 3-year-old male relative in November 2014. Branson's videos are among the pornography found in Thomas' possession.
Branson testified Tuesday that she and Thomas became acquainted and began dating while attending high school in New Boston, Texas, under questioning by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Wulff. Branson said that while dating, she and Thomas discovered they shared "unusual mutual interests: child pornography and incest."
Branson said that she sent Thomas an image of child pornography in summer 2010 and that Thomas "loved it and would ask me to send more." Branson said Thomas often asked her to take and send photos of herself using sexual aids in ways which caused her physical pain. When asked why she agreed, Branson replied, "Because I wanted to make him happy."
Branson said she and Thomas continued to share child pornography after their dating relationship ended. Among the images she claims Thomas sent her was a photo of a teen girl's thigh marred by cuts from a razor blade.
"The text said, 'Look what I did,'" Branson testified.
The girl in the photo Branson described receiving from Thomas was interviewed three times in November and December 2014 at Children's Advocacy Center in Texarkana by the agency's program director, Missy Davison. Excerpts of the girl's recorded interview were played Tuesday while Davison testified.
Tips from authorities in Canada and from other law enforcement sources led local officials to the Texarkana teen. The girl declined to reveal the identity of the man with whom she began having a violent sexual relationship with at the age of 14, but inadvertantly refers to him as "Nathan" in her third interview.
The girl said she met Thomas using internet-based applications such as KIK and Meet Me and realized she was vaguely acquainted with him. In the recorded interview, the girl stated that she and Thomas had a sexual relationship that involved sodomy, bondage and incestual role playing, which also included choking and cutting. The girl described "going into shock" during some of the painful activity and alleged Thomas wore a "smirk" when he noticed her pain.
The girl told Davison that she isolated herself and allowed Thomas to direct her behavior and that he eventually disclosed his obsession with child pornography to her. In the video, the girl said Thomas began "randomly" sending her text messages that included images and videos of children being sexually abused.
"I just wanted him to love me so much," the girl said.
The girl said in the recorded interview that Thomas would send her the images and ask her how she felt.
"He wanted to be on the phone with me while I was watching," the girl said in the recorded interview. "He wanted me to like it."
Davison testified that the girl told her Thomas wanted child pornography to be something they shared and that he showed her how to find, download and share child pornography with him and strangers on the internet.
The father of the girl interviewed by Davison in 2014 testified that he and his wife were at a loss when their teen's behavior began to dramatically change. The daughter who'd been a first- or second-chair flutist suddenly became withdrawn, violent and rebellious. Choking back tears, the father described what his child endured as "basically torture" and lamented that she may have to deal with the abuse for the rest of her life.
A 20-year-old woman testified Tuesday that she had a similar relationship with Thomas that began when she was 12. The woman said she received a text message from someone in 20o9 she described as a "wrong number."
"But he kept texting me," the woman testified.
She and Thomas met in person when she was in eighth grade, a few days after she turned 14, in 2011. Thomas was 18.
The woman testified that Thomas encouraged her to send pictures and videos of herself inserting objects into her body and that "it felt like he liked that it hurt me."
She said Thomas would threaten to withdraw his attention and "affection" if she quit sending him images and described intensely painful sexual encounters involving sodomy and bondage.
"At one point, I asked him, 'Are you only interested in me because of my age?' He said, 'Yes,'" the woman testified.
The relationship ended when the woman's mother became concerned and confronted Thomas. Under questioning from Thomas' lawyer, Public Defender Bruce Eddy, the woman admitted that her mother may have threatened to kill Thomas.
The government also called Michael Bishop to testify. The inmate serving time for drugs and weapons offenses said he was housed in the same pod as Thomas at the Bi-State Justice Building for months and that he heard Thomas say he intends to move to Southeast Asia where he can molest children with impunity.
Branson testified that Thomas mentioned a trip overseas for the purpose of molesting children, as well.
Before adjourning court Tuesday afternoon, Hickey heard victim impact testimony from the woman who testified Thomas began grooming her at 12 and molesting her at 14.
"I just wanted company," the woman said. "I would've done anything for a friend."
She said she still wakes up crying when she thinks about the images she sent Thomas at his request.
"Now when I see a man with a child, I see a rapist, a manipulator and a pedophile," the woman testified. "I believe my ability to have a healthy relationship has been damaged permanently."
Wednesday morning, Hickey is expected to hear some final legal arguments from Jenner and Eddy concerning how federal sentencing guidelines should be applied in Thomas' case before making a decision on his punishment. Thomas faces five to 20 years on each of the two counts to which he's pleaded guilty, and Hickey could order consecutive sentences. The government is asking for a maximum, 40-year sentence.