Leland man gets 43+ years in prison for child sex crimes

LELAND, NC (WWAY) — A Leland man has been sentenced to more than 43 years in prison for dozens of child sex crime charges.

In court on Friday, Justin Gene Thaden pled guilty to 44 counts child pornography, 12 counts of indecent liberties with a child, and three counts of attempted sexual offense with a child by an adult offender.

In an open plea, Brunswick County Resident Superior Court Judge, Jason C. Disbrow, sentenced Thaden to more than 43 years in prison and ordered him to 30 year registration upon his release.

The District Attorney’s Office presented evidence in court that Thaden had sexually abused four minor children between the ages of 8-9 in the Leland area.During the investigation, Leland Detectives Hutt and Almond seized Thaden’s cellphone which they said had multiple photos of child pornography with the victim’s ages ranging from 2 to 9 years of age.