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HOUSTON - A Texas man will be sent to federal prison for possession of child pornography, including more than 300,000 images.
Scott Thomas Provost, 64, pleaded guilty on January 6 to receipt and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
According to court records, he was sentenced to 30 years for the charges with the exception of 22 months, by U.S. District Judge David Hittner and will have to serve 10 years of supervised release when his imprisonment is finished.
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The 64-year-old will have to pay restitution to be determined at a later date to identify victims and register as a sex offender. Officials say during that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements to restrict his access to children and the internet.
"Provost amassed one of the most extensive collections of child pornography videos and images we have seen in this district," said Hamdani. "Each and every one of the files he had in his possession represents significant trauma and suffering to real children. Today’s sentence demonstrates our commitment to stop those who partake and assist others in viewing child pornography and the continued cycle of abuse these children endure."
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Law enforcement became aware of Provost after he was identified as a user of a peer-to-peer network that uses a centralized data store to keep and deliver information without fear of censorship.
While acting on a search warrant for his home in January 2022, authorities found nearly four terabytes of pornography including many images of child pornography he downloaded and was storing on his personal hard drives.
Court records state forensic analysis revealed 6,718 videos and 313,356 images containing child sexual assault material. Children who were less than 12 years old as well as infants and toddlers were also included in the media. Many images depicted young children in bondage and other forms of violence, officials say.
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"This is, by far, the largest recovery of child pornographic material by investigators in our FBI Bryan office," said Special Agent in Charge James Smith of the FBI. "This individual is one of the worst purveyors of child porn our agents have seen - it was his daily obsession. Unfortunately, with the ever-increasing number of online images depicting sexual abuse of children and an ever-increasing amount of online activity by people seeking to contact them, Provost's arrest and sentence doesn't cure the rampant epidemic that is the sexual exploitation of our children."
Provost will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility.