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June 18, 2004
The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California announced that Thomas White, age 68 of San Francisco, was indicted on two counts of conspiracy to travel with intent to engage in sexual acts with juveniles in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2423(b), one count of conspiracy to sexually exploit children in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(d) and a forfeiture allegation in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2253. The indictment was unsealed yesterday afternoon, and has been under seal since it was first returned by the grand jury on March 23, 2004.
According to the indictment, Mr. White is alleged to have conspired to travel to Thailand and Mexico with the intent to engage in unlawful sexual acts with juveniles, and to have traveled to those two countries on several occasions for that purpose. Mr. White is alleged to have traveled to Thailand between October 2000 and February 2003 in order to engage in sexual acts with juveniles. Mr. White paid people in Thailand to produce juveniles for him to engage in sexual acts with, then he gave the juveniles food, housing and gifts in exchange for the sexual acts.
The indictment further alleges that Mr. White and another person took photographs of the juveniles in Thailand with whom they engaged in sexual activities. In emails, Mr. White and his coconspirators discuss obtaining children for Mr. White to have sex with, and to smuggle these children out of his house in Thailand without being detected.
The indictment also alleges that Mr. White traveled to countries besides Thailand for illegal purposes. It is alleged that he travelled to Mexico between January 1999 and March 2001 for the purpose of engaging in sexual activities with juveniles. Also, Mr. White is charged with travelling to Europe, including to Prague, in furtherance of a conspiracy to produce child pornography. Mr. White owns houses in both Thailand and Mexico, and the indictment seeks the forfeiture of those properties. In the event that the properties abroad cannot be seized, the indictment seeks to forfeit instead two properties owned by Mr. White in San Francisco, one at 10 Loma Vista Terrace and one at 8 Clayton Street.
The maximum statutory penalty for each count in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2423(b) is 15 years imprisonment, three years supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. The maximum statutory penalty for a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(d) is 20 years, with a 10 year mandatory minimum, three years supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. However, any sentence following conviction would be dictated by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of factors, and would be imposed in the discretion of the Court. An indictment simply contains allegations against an individual and, as with all defendants, Mr. White must be presumed innocent unless and until convicted.
Mr. White is currently detained in Thailand on a Mexican request for extradition.
The prosecution is the result of a two year investigation by numerous Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in San Francisco and abroad. Assistant United States Attorneys Elise Becker and Susan Jerich, and Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section Trial Attorney David Szuchman are prosecuting the case, with the assistance of legal techs Lori Lucchetti and Ji-Yon Yi, and paralegal Linda Woo.
A copy of this press release may be found on the U.S. Attorney's Office's website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can. Related court documents and information may be found on the District Court website at www.cand.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.cand.uscourts/gov.
All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney's Office should be directed to Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Jacobs at (415)436-7181.
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