Woodbridge Sex Offender Who Exploited Dozens Of Children Sentenced To 40 Years In Prison

WOODBRIDGE, VA – A Woodbridge man who pleaded guilty to sexually exploiting dozens of young girls in multiple states was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.

Malachi Morgan Thomas, 24, of Woodbridge, pleaded guilty to federal charges of sexual exploitation of children and possession of child sexual abuse material in April.

In the statement of facts presented with the plea, Thomas admitted to using Snapchat to coerce dozens of girls – the official count was 41 – to engage in sexually explicit conduct, including sending photos and videos of themselves or participating in video calls.

According to court documents, the abuse took place between March and October of 2020. Using a Snapchat account Thomas had hacked and stolen from another minor, he reached out to minor girls online. He told the girls he was the head of a criminal gang and threatened them and their families with violence if they didn’t do what he asked and recruit other girls to the group chat.

Thomas also physically abused at least three victims and documented the assaults on his phones.

Northern Virginia police first seized Thomas’ phone in July, when they responded to reports of an altercation at Potomac Mills Mall, according to the statement of facts. Unbeknownst to Thomas, the father of one of his victims learned about his abuse and arranged to meet him at the mall, pretending to be his daughter. When Prince William County police arrived and were told about the situation, Thomas’ phone was taken for examination.

According to court documents, Thomas simply began using another phone to store the child sexual abuse material.

In October 2020, Thomas was arrested by Fairfax police and charged with rape and sodomy of two minor girls in Fairfax County. He was convicted in 2024 and sentenced to 45 years in prison with 20 years suspended and 20 years' probation on those charges.

In May 2023, Thomas pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography and sexual offenses against a minor using a computer in a Prince William County court, charges dating from 2021. He was sentenced to five years in prison for each charge, with roughly two years suspended, with the sentences to run concurrently.

On Thursday, Thomas was given the maximum sentence for each federal charge.