Lengthy prison sentence for man from Oregon in Louisa County case

LOUISA COUNTY, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- A man from Oregon has been sentenced to decades in prison for attempting to prey on a Louisa County child.
Louisa County Commonwealth’s Attorney Rusty McGuire announced Wednesday that 50-year-old Daniel R. Thomas of Portland, Oregon was sentenced to 101 years in prison.
According to a release, this results from his conviction on charges of indecent liberties with a minor under the age of 14, production of child pornography, and solicitation of a minor of a communication device.
"Through its sentence today, the Court sent a message that it will not tolerate those who exploit children. No matter where you are, Louisa County will come for you if you attempt to exploit our children,” said McGuire.
Last year, a father in Louisa County was looking at his daughter’s phone and found explicit conversations between her and an unknown adult.
That phone was turned over to the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office, and an investigation got underway, identifying a suspect.
At that time, Thomas was living in a halfway house in Portland, after having been recently released from prison where he served a 16-year sentence for sexually abusing several children.
The Louisa County Sheriff’s Office contacted a detective in Portland, who then searched the halfway house and found a phone belonging to Thomas.
The Virginia State Police helped to extradite him to Virginia.