Former Portsmouth officer gets 10 years for child porn

NORFOLK

A former Portsmouth police sergeant was sentenced to 10 years in prison Monday after pleading guilty in federal court to distributing child pornography.

Thomas Humphries, 63, of Portsmouth, faced as much as 22 years in prison under federal guidelines.

Humphries was charged last summer after he posted an image of child pornography on a website known by law enforcement to trade such images. He initially tried to say he was working undercover but later admitted his guilt.

The government asked for a sentence of between 210 and 262 months in prison. Humphries' lawyer, Richard Doummar, said a sentence of five years would be sufficient, given Humphries' years of police and community work.

U.S. District Judge Arenda L. Allen essentially split the difference.

Humphries, who worked in the K-9 unit, submitted dozens of letters of support and copies of awards and certificates he received over nearly 30 years he served on the Portsmouth police force. He retired last year.

One letter was sent in by Dennis A. Mook, former police chief for Portsmouth and Newport News.

"Rick Humphries was the kind of employee and colleague, as chief of police, that I would want 10 more men just like him," Mook wrote to the court. "I have never known him to be less than ethical, honest, trustworthy and hard working in all my years of dealing with him."