Men sentenced for tech-based sex crimes

STAUNTON — A judge Thursday sentenced two men to prison for technology-based sex crimes.

During a morning hearing in Augusta County Circuit Court, Gregory Toney, 31, of Charlottesville, was sentenced to six years in prison, with 24 additional years suspended, for sending illicit text messages to two Stuarts Draft sisters, ages 13 and 16.

Toney came to the girls’ home, did not meet them, and was arrested about a fourth of a mile away, investigators said.

In court, Toney apologized, claiming he intended to meet an older cousin of the girls.

He was sentenced for charges of soliciting sex from a minor by using an electronic device and possessing child pornography. He is barred from contact with minors.

Later in court, Judge Victor V. Ludwig sentenced a West Virginia man to five years in prison, with 30 additional years suspended, for interactions with an undercover officer posing online as a 14-year-old girl.

During a three-day period in October, Christopher Houchins, 30, conversed online with an officer enrolled at Central Shenandoah Criminal Justice Training Academy, according to testimony. Houchins sent photos of himself. In return, the officer sent photos of a female officer from when she was 13, said Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Rupen Shah.

Authorities brought six charges of taking indecent liberties with a minor and one charge of using a computer to solicit sex from a minor younger than 15. The solicitation charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years.

Sex crimes are decreasing nationwide, according to University of New Hampshire’s Crimes Against Children Research Center, but Augusta County authorities said they have seen an increase in sex cases involving computers and cell phones.