A Westminster man who had thousands of photos and videos of children and infants being sexually abused was sentenced on Tuesday to 35 years in prison in a federal case.
Gregory Lynn Hopson, 44, pleaded guilty to three federal child pornography charges on Sept. 29 in a plea agreement. He did not speak during Tuesday’s hearing in U.S. District Court in Denver.
A grand jury indicted Hopson on 16 counts on Oct. 24, 2012.
Hopson was already in prison when he was indicted because of a conviction in a 2000 case in Boulder County in which he pleaded guilty to sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust, according to a 2012 news release from the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE investigated the federal case against Hopson.
Hopson was re-sentenced to 16 years to life in prison on March 2, 2012, for violating the terms of his sentence in the Boulder case. The then 42-year-old admitted he sexually assaulted two children under the age of 12 in that case.
Hopson has filed an appeal in that case.
“There is a factor of retribution that is apparent in this case,” said U.S. District Judge Lewis T. Babcock as he handed down the agreed-upon sentence.
Babcock expressed concern about Hopson’s repeat offenses and characterized him as being indifferent to the victims. Leaning forward and pressing his hands together, Babcock stared across the vast courtroom at Hopson.
“He just doesn’t care about what happened, what has happened and what continues to happen to these victims,” Babcock said. “That speaks more to his character than anything.”
Hopson did not shift in his chair while Babcock spoke to him. He tugged at the bottom of his orange prison shirt before he was placed in handcuffs and led out of the courtroom.
According to the indictment in the federal case, Hopson was accused of coercing a 17-year-old to engage in “sexually explicit” conduct to produce child pornography. He was charged with eight counts of production of child pornography and additional charges of sharing and receiving child pornography.
ICE agents searched Hopson’s Westminster home on March 5, 2011. Forensic analysis of a laptop found on Hopson’s kitchen table found thousands of pictures and videos of children and infants being sexually abused.
Investigators also found eight images of a child Hopson knew. The images show Hopson engaged in “sexually explicit conduct” with the child who was under 12.
There is currently no evidence Hopson distributed those photos, according to the plea agreement.
Hopson also sent and received about 300 e-mails that included roughly 1,700 photos and videos of child pornography.
In September, Hopson pleaded guilty to two counts of transporting child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography. As part of the plea agreement all the other counts were dropped.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Judith Smith said it was “a struggle” for her to find an appropriate plea agreement for Hopson.
“What this plea agreement does for the family of the victim is provide finality,” Smith said.
Hopson will serve his 35 year sentence concurrently with his 16-year sentence in the Boulder case.
Jordan Steffen: 303-954-1794, jsteffen@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jsteffendp
