A Woodbridge man who was previously convicted in Fairfax County for the sexual assault of two minors faces 40 years in prison after coercing dozens of underage victims to send him sexually explicit material.
Malachi Morgan Thomas, 24, pleaded guilty yesterday (Thursday) in federal court to two counts of sexual exploitation of children, as well as one count of possession of child sexual abuse material, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced.
Thomas faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in federal prison for the crimes and could be sentenced up to a maximum aggregate penalty of 40 years behind bars.
According to court documents, Thomas used Snapchat to contact more than three dozen minors — ranging in age from 12 to 17 — and convince them to send him sexually explicit content.
Thomas posed as the leader of a criminal organization, directing victims to send him the content under the threat of physical harm to not just them, but their family members as well.
“He told the girls that as long as they did what he told them, they would be safe,” prosecutors said in a statement of facts.
During a seven-month period in 2020, Thomas is believed to have coerced approximately 41 minors to send him the sexually explicit content, court documents said.
Thomas has already been convicted on a variety of state-level charges, including possession of child pornography in Prince William County, which led to his registration as a sex offender in 2021.
In July 2024, Thomas was also convicted on charges of rape, sodomy and taking indecent liberties with a child under 15 in Fairfax County after photos and videos of sexual assaults of two minors were found on his personal devices, according to court documents.
“Recovered from [Thomas’s] two phones were over 20 videos and 23 images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct,” the statement of facts said.
The Fairfax County Police Department had arrested Thomas on Oct. 1, 2020 on charges of rape and sodomy for those assaults. He was ultimately sentenced to 10 years in prison for indecent liberties, 45 years with 20 suspended for rape, and 20 years of probation for sodomy, according to Fairfax County Circuit Court records.
Thomas is scheduled to be sentenced for his federal charges on Sept. 24.
