Friday, September 11, 2020 Defendant Justin Gene Thaden of Leland, North Carolina pled guilty to 44 counts child pornography, 12 counts of indecent liberties with a child, and three counts of attempted sexual offense with a child by an adult offender, according to Ashley N. Bullard, Executive Assistant to District Attorney Jon David with the 15th Prosecutorial District.
In an open plea, Brunswick County Resident Superior Court Judge, Jason C. Disbrow, imposed a sentence of 519-924 months (43-77 years) and ordered Thaden to 30 year registration upon his release from the Department of Adult Corrections.
During the plea earlier Friday morning, the District Attorney’s Office presented evidence that Thaden had sexually abused four minor children between the ages of 8-9 in the Leland area. During the course of the investigation, Leland Detectives Hutt and Almond seized Thaden’s cellular phone which they determined contained multiple images of child pornography with the victim’s ages ranging from 2 to 9 years of age. Defendant will serve a mandatory minimum 43 ¼ year sentence.
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