CAIRO – Thomas Squires, age 35, of Cairo in Greene County, was arrested Wednesday and charged with attempting to entice a child. The defendant allegedly exchanged sexually explicit text messages with an undercover investigator posing as a child.
According to the US Attorney’s office and the FBI, Squires sent messages to the investigator that he thought was a child between July 27 and August 19, 2020, asking the child to send naked photos. The accused also sent pictures of his own genitalia to the recipient.
According to the Justice Department, Squires asked to meet the child in person at a location in Cairo, to engage in sexual acts with the child in his car. On August 19, 2020, Squires traveled from his residence in Cairo to the pre-determined location to meet and have sex with the child. Squires was encountered by law enforcement upon his arrival and arrested.
On Thursday, Squires appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Christian Hummel and was detained pending a detention hearing set for August 24.
This case is being investigated by the FBI and its Child Exploitation Task Force, with assistance from the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rachel Williams.
Anyone who wants to provide law enforcement with information about the defendant should contact the FBI Albany Field Office at (518) 465-7551.
The charge filed against Squires carries a sentence of at least 10 years and up to life in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life.
This case is prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc/.
