New Kent man slapped with decade behind bars for sex crimes with minor

Using a computer and cell phone to solicit sex from a minor has landed a New Kent man a decade in the state penitentiary.

New Kent Circuit Judge B. Elliott Bondurant slapped a 10-year prison sentence on Thomas Moody Garner, 22, of the 8000 block of New Kent Highway, for his involvement with a then 14-year old minor during Monday afternoon proceedings.

During an Aug. 10 trial, Moody entered guilty pleas to one count of proposing sex to a minor through the use of an electronic device and one count of indecent liberties with a minor. During that trial, prosecutor Clay Blanton said that from Nov. 1, 2014 to Feb. 26, Garner had interactions with the girl, sending her messages, emails, and video of a graphic nature. The defendant’s actions were reported by the mother of the girl, who received the message on Feb. 26 after checking her daughter’s phone during a nightly routine.

Prior to sentencing, Blanton addressed the court about the results of investigators cracking encrypted code on the defendant’s computer. According to the prosecutor, there were at least two other instances where Moody interacted with underage girls in the fall of 2014.

And while Blanton advised defense counsel he would recommend the sentencing guidelines which calls for five years to serve, the minimum mandatory sentence under state statute, Bondurant saw otherwise.

“This man is a poor rehabilitation subject,” the judge said, reading off a psycho-sexual evaluation prepared for the court. “He is a moderate risk to reoffend and he has an obsession to wanting to have sex with underage girls.

“The thing that gets me the most is that as a minor, he violated a court order within a three-day period,” Bondurant continued, referencing how the defendant was told not to use electronic media after threatening to cause violence at New Kent Middle School. “I am deviating from the recommended guidelines because of his past record and his disregard for orders instructed by the court.”

Garner received a 25-year prison sentence on proposing sex to a minor, with 15 years suspended. All 10 years on indecent liberties with a minor were suspended.