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2 men get lengthy prison sentences in child porn possession

Thomas Coniglio is 71, Joseph Henderson is 35
Thomas Coniglio (left) and Joseph Henderson.jpg
Posted at 4:08 PM, Jun 03, 2023
and last updated 2023-06-03 16:08:30-04

MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — Two Martin County men received 111-prison sentences on child porn possession.

On Tuesday, Circuit Judge William Roby sentenced 71-year old Thomas Coniglio, of Stuart, on each of the 100 felony counts he was charged in 2020: possessing images of children engaging in sex. A jury convicted him on April 26.

Also Tuesday, he sentenced 35-year old Joseph Henderson, of Palm City, on each of the 110 felony counts of possessing child pornography in 2021. He was convicted on March 20.

Roby called Coniglio a danger to society.

“Those images are the most heinous and atrocious pictures. I've seen murder victims that I wouldn't want to see either,” Roby said in a TCPalm report. “But … I’d rather see the murder victims than the child porn.

He said he lost sleep after “the images were burned into my mind.”

“I find these child porn cases and child porn pictures to be a truly heinous crime, creating multiple child victims throughout the entire country on multiple occasions,” Roby said, as Coniglio faced him at a podium and chained at his hands and feet.

Henderson worked for a security company providing services to Heritage Oaks, and child pornography video was uploaded on a day when Henderson was working.

Henderson also faces sexual battery county of a child filed after the Martin County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook his arrest on the child pornography charges.

Henderson is accused of sexually battering an 11-year-old girl in 2008, according to arrest records. A jury trial is set for Aug. 14.

"Detectives with our Criminal Investigations Special Victim’s Unit work tirelessly to retrieve the disturbing images off of the suspect’s computer devices," the sheriff's office posted on Facebook. "A painstaking job that is critical to the successful prosecution and sentencing of these criminals. The images retrieved from these computers depict children from infancy to 12 years old being victimized as they are engaging in sexual activity."