Not long after a Juneau man left prison — where he served more than 20 years for the sexual abuse of a minor — he’s headed back again. This time, it’s for life.
Thomas Schopp, 52, pleaded guilty in February to creating child pornography while on parole, according to a plea agreement drafted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Reardon of Anchorage.
In August 2014, Schopp met a juvenile in Juneau whom he went on to commit sexual acts with while recording those acts on his cellphone, according to the plea deal Schopp signed. Schopp also provided that minor with gifts over the course of several months, including a cellphone, and traveled with her to Reno, Nevada, where Schopp was arrested. While in custody, Reardon said Schopp tried to have someone destroy his personal devices containing evidence of child pornography.
Schopp’s arrest was part of an FBI investigation by offices in Anchorage, Juneau and Reno, Nevada.
Schopp’s prior offenses include a 1988 conviction for six counts of sexual assault and a second conviction in 1993 for sexual abuse of a minor and attempted sexual abuse. In total, nine children in Schopp’s care were molested. Schopp was sentenced to five years in prison for his first conviction and 26 years for the last offense. He was released early from his sentence, sometime in 2014, Reardon said.
Because Schopp is a two-time offender, the minimum prison sentence he could have received for creating child pornography was 35 years, which is what Schopp’s attorney Jamie McGrady argued for during Monday’s sentencing.
Reardon said although the plea deal did not promise Schopp a shorter sentence, it was possible the judge could have looked favorably upon Schopp for accepting blame for his crime by pleading guilty ahead of a trial, sparring the victim and her family a lengthy ordeal in court.
“The evidence in this case was very strong,” Reardon said in a phone interview Tuesday. “He had taken video of his victim and there were attempts to destroy the evidence. I think (Schopp) realized if he went to trial, he would be convicted.”
U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Burgess decided, regardless of Schopp’s willingness to plead guilty, that a life in prison was necessary.
“[Y]ou go to jail for 26 years and you get out and here we are again,” Burgess said on Monday according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska’s office. “I don’t think there is anything I can do to deter you. Nothing. … the only way I can [protect the public] is to sentence you to life.”
• Contact reporter Paula Ann Solis at 523-2272 or paula.solis@juneauempire.com.
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