Child pornographer still awaits sentencing on Flathead County charges

A Kalispell man was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court to 30 years in federal prison for sex crimes against children.

James Matthew Thorne, 42, pleaded guilty in June to sexual exploitation of children and the receipt and possession of child pornography. These crimes related to photographing young boys wearing only underwear and then selling the clothing on eBay.

His sentence includes a lifetime of supervised release and prohibits him from socializing with anyone under 18, visiting parks, playgrounds or schools, and from calling 900 numbers.

Thorne also is awaiting sentencing in Flathead County District Court, where he pleaded guilty in November 2006 to four counts of sexual intercourse without consent involving young boys.

Thorne has said the sexual assaults occurred in his home on Mission Way, where he and his wife operated Paint and Place Daycare.

According to federal documents, officials seized 8,000 images of illegal child pornography and 120 videos from Thorne's computer. Some of the images were received via the Internet, but officials also found numerous pictures and videos that Thorne took or recorded of boys in his care.

Investigators found pictures of children under age 12 engaged in sadistic or violent sexual activity.

Flathead County sheriff's detectives began investigating Thorne in August 2006 after the mother of a 2-year-old child who attended the day care reported her son may have been sexually assaulted.

Less than a week after those allegations were made, Thorne's mother-in-law told a Department of Public Health and Human Services worker that Thorne had admitted to taking nude photographs of young boys.

The state worker was at the home establishing a safety plan for foster children who had been placed with the Thornes, according to court documents.

Detectives interviewed Thorne's wife, who told them Thorne further admitted to taking pictures of other nude children while he or the child were performing sexual acts.

One boy told investigators Thorne ran an online business selling young boys' underwear on eBay. Thorne would photograph young boys modeling the underwear, download the photos, and then post those pictures online to sell the garments. The boy was sexually assaulted on multiple occasions during these photo sessions, court documents said.

Thorne is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday for his rape convictions in Flathead County District Court. For those crimes, he faces up to four consecutive life prison terms and a $200,000 fine.

Prosecutors allege the sexual assaults occurred between January 2002 and August 2006. According to court documents, at least four boys between ages 8 and 15 were involved.

Court documents outline multiple illegal sexual acts against each boy. Thorne also forced the boys to perform sexual acts on each other. One of the victims told investigators he abused other children outside of Thorne's presence because Thorne had taught him to do it.

Thorne originally was scheduled to be sentenced for the four felonies in March, but the Flathead County Attorney's Office asked for a delay to allow time for the adjudication of the federal charges and because a sexual-offender evaluation had yet to be completed.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com