MIDLAND, Texas — A Texas man was given a 40-year prison sentence on Tuesday after being convicted of running a website that published ghastly materials depicting sexual abuse against children.
According to the Justice Department, Thomas Alan Arthur started the website, called “Mr. Double,” in 1996 and began charging member access fees in 1998. The grotesque site published writings detailing the rape, torture, and murder of infants and toddlers. Moreover, some drawings depicted children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
As a result, federal investigators executed a search warrant at Arthur’s Terlingua residence in November 2019. Afterward, the website, which was Arthur’s only source of income for more than 20 years, was taken offline.
Arthur, 65, was convicted by a federal jury on Jan. 21 of numerous obscenity counts, Washington Examiner reported. His crimes included:
- Three counts of trafficking in obscene visual representations of sexual abuse of a child
- Five counts of trafficking in obscene text stories
- One count for selling obscene matters involving the sexual abuse of children
“The 40-year sentence imposed by the court reflects the extremely serious nature of the criminal conduct,” U.S. Attorney Ashley Hoff said in a statement.
“This repugnant exploitation of innocent children has no place in society. The FBI will vigorously pursue anyone that profits on the publishing of visual and textual depictions of the sexual abuse and murder of children,” acting FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Coburn said.
The defendant also received a $50,000 fine in addition to his prison sentence.
