Carmel man sentenced to 22 years in prison for sexual exploitation and possession of child sexual abuse material

Martin also engaged in grooming behaviors, such as buying clothes and dinner for MVI and even buying the child a birthday cake when he turned 16.

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INDIANAPOLIS – Thomas Cade Martin, 27, of Carmel, Indiana, was sentenced to 275 months in a federal prison followed by 20 years of probation after pleading guilty to distributing images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and possession of child sexual abuse material. He also admitted to sexually exploiting a minor victim in Carmel. Martin was also ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution and must register as a sex offender in the place where he lives, works or attends school.

According to court documents, Carmel Police Department officers received a report of sexual exploitation of a minor male victim in late 2022. The report revealed that Thomas Martin solicited minor victim 1, a 15-year-old boy, to meet in person after being introduced through the online dating app Grindr. Martin continued conversations with MV1 through Instagram and Snapchat, initially lying about his identity and age to manipulate MV1.

Over the course of three weeks, Martin met in person with MV1 several times at his Carmel home and other public locations to have sexual intercourse. Martin also engaged in suggestive behavior, such as purchasing clothes and dinner for MVI and even buying the child a birthday cake when he turned 16.

A search of Martin’s cell phone revealed several sexually explicit “live photos” of the victim taken by Martin himself, as well as additional images showing the two together at restaurants and public gatherings in Carmel.

“Martin sexually abused and exploited a 15-year-old boy after gaining his admiration and trust online. Exploiting vulnerable teenagers for sexual purposes is a despicable crime that deserves a lengthy prison sentence,” said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana Zachary A. Myers. “The sentence imposed today should serve as a warning to potential offenders and sex workers: If you recruit and exploit minors for sex, you will spend many years in federal prison.”

“This defendant earned his lengthy prison sentence by promoting online victimization of minors and seeking out and abusing a victim here in Indiana,” said Special Agent in Charge Herb Stapleton of the Indianapolis Federal Bureau of Investigation. “Thanks to the dedication of our Crimes Against Children investigators in conjunction with the Carmel Police Department, this man will spend a very long time behind bars.”

“The Carmel Police Department has teams dedicated to preventing and investigating child exploitation. We are proud to work closely with our federal and local partners to bring justice to the victims of these cases. The work of everyone involved in Mr. Martin’s case demonstrates our commitment to protecting our most valuable asset, our children. These types of heinous crimes will simply not be tolerated,” said Carmel Police Chief Drake Sterling.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Carmel Police Department investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge James P. Hanlon.

U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany J. Preston, who is prosecuting this case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood combines federal, state, and local resources to better find, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children over the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc

This investigation was conducted by the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, a multi-agency task force led by the Indiana State Police that investigates and prosecutes individuals who use the Internet to sexually exploit or entice children. Each year, Indiana ICAC investigators evaluate thousands of tips, investigate hundreds of cases, and rescue dozens of children from ongoing sexual abuse. Visit https://www.in.gov/isp/icactf/ to learn more about their efforts.