James Coleman Thompson
A well-known Lookout Mountain, Tn., man who was arrested in June on child sex charges entered a guilty plea in Federal Court on Friday afternoon.
James Coleman Thompson faces up to 15 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000, prosecutors said.
He will be sentenced later by Judge Travis McDonough.
Under the plea, it was agreed that in November 2000 when "Victim 1" was under 18 and Thompson was 48, Thompson transported him from Lookout Mountain, Tn., to Scottsboro, Ala., for sexual activity. It says, while in Alabama, Thompson performed a sex act on the youth.
Also, it was stipulated that in September 2000 when "Victim 2" was under 18 and Thompson was 48 he transported that youth from Lookout Mountain, Tn., to Scottsboro for sexual activity. It says afterward Thompson took the youth back to Lookout Mountain, Tn., where he forced him to take off his clothes and rubbed his private area.
Prosecutors said in 1999 or 2000 that Thompson transferred "Victim 3" from Lookout Mountain, Tn., to Louisiana for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity. That victim was less than 17 and Thompson was either 47 or 48, it was stated. Prosecutors said Victim 3 said Thompson committed oral sex on him in Louisiana, while Thompson said he only rubbed his private area. Either act would have violated Louisiana law, it was stated.
Thompson will be required to register as a Sex Offender.
Thompson has been held in custody since his indictment.
The FBI said at the time of the indictment it believed there were additional victims and asked them to come forward.
The original indictment involving two victims was later amended to add one more alleged victim.
This indictment is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Jackson County, Alabama Sheriff’s Office, and the Lookout Mountain, Tennessee Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney James Brooks represents the United States.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/pscclick on the tab "resources."