Man sentenced for possession of child porn
Jan. 28—Nicholas David Hoyt was sentenced to 11 years in prison Tuesday for Promotion of Child Pornography, to be followed by five years in prison for Possession of Child Pornography, which will in turn be followed by 10 years of probation. The law requires that Hoyt will be required to register as a sex offender for life.
A Navarro County jury found Hoyt guilty of 10 counts of Possession of Child Pornography and 10 counts of Promotion of Child Pornography Dec. 8. He elected for the judge to assess his punishment.
Evidence presented at trial showed he downloaded and viewed more than 60 images of infants, toddlers, and prepubescent girls being sexually abused and exploited on his cell phone and a home computer.
According to District Attorney Will Thompson, the case started when a search engine company notified the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that their system had flagged certain IP addresses for transmitting possible child pornography.
The ensuing investigation traced the IP addresses to Hoyt and led to discovery of the images on his cell phone and computer. This is an example of multiple law enforcement agencies working together effectively to detect, investigate and prosecute the dissemination of child pornography.
"We hope today's verdict sends a message that people who exploit children for sexual gratification can be found and severely punished," Thompson stated.
