Wichita man, 69, gets prison over child porn obtained through BitTorrent network
A 69-year-old Wichita man was sentenced Thursday to 11 years, three months in federal prison for possessing child pornography, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Authorities say detectives conducting an undercover operation into child pornography on a peer-to-peer file sharing network called BitTorrent in July 2020 identified Thomas Schindler as a user who was in possession of sexually explicit images of young girls.
When detectives went to Schindler’s apartment on Oct. 8, 2020, he admitted to “accessing and using the BitTorrent network to obtain child pornography,” the news release said. He also told the detectives that his computers “would contain child pornography obtain via that network,” according to his plea agreement.
Schindler let law enforcement seize his computers, the agreement said.
When examined, authorities found that they contained pornographic images of prepubescent girls, records show.
Schindler pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography in May. In addition to serving the 135-month sentence, Schindler was ordered to forfeit property seized in the investigation, including several storage devices and a hard drive.
Schindler has asked to serve his prison term at the U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility in Butner, North Carolina, so he can receive treatment for medical issues including heart problems and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, court records show.
He is barred from having intentional contact with anyone under 18 without the court’s permission or unless its within the course of “legitimate commercial business.” He’ll also have restrictions placed on his internet usage once he’s released, according to court documents.
