No Plea Deal: Man Faces 20 Years for Distributing Hundreds of Child Porn Files

Just one day before his trial was set to begin, 22-year-old Thomas Gage Whaley of Covington pleaded guilty to a staggering 190 counts related to child pornography, including 95 counts of Possession or Viewing of Matter Portraying a Sexual Performance by a Minor and 95 counts of Distribution. The plea came without any sentencing agreement in place, as Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Emily Arnzen declined to offer any deals and is pursuing the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison allowed under Kentucky law at the time of the offenses.

Whaley’s arrest followed a Cyber Tipline Report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which flagged 95 child pornography files uploaded to a Google Drive account traced to Covington. The explicit videos and images depicted prepubescent children, some believed to be toddlers, being subjected to sexual abuse by adults.

After receiving the tip, Covington Police executed a search warrant at the residence Whaley shared with others. Officers never recovered his phone—despite Whaley claiming it was inside the home—but Detective Nicollette Brown was able to access the contents of his Google Drive. Her investigation revealed not only the 95 flagged files but hundreds of additional photos and videos uploaded over the span of several months.

“These cloud accounts do more than store files—they provide seamless ways for predators to share abuse material,” said Arnzen. “With just a link, users can distribute these images globally, instantly.”

Though Whaley’s conduct would carry up to 70 years under Kentucky law as revised in 2024, his crimes occurred before the legal update, capping his sentence at 20 years. Arnzen noted that Whaley will be required to serve at least 85% of that term before he becomes eligible for parole. Upon release, he will be required to register as a lifetime sex offender.

The prosecutor made clear her decision to pursue a limited number of charges despite discovering hundreds of files: “The law sets the same cap regardless of the count total, and I refuse to subject jurors—or these child victims—to more suffering than absolutely necessary.”

Some of the materials Whaley stored were particularly egregious, including videos exceeding 30 minutes in length. Arnzen added, “The only thing worse than seeing child porn is hearing it too.”

Formal sentencing is scheduled for August 2025 before Judge Patricia Summe.