CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WRIC) — A Virginia man has been sentenced to ten years in prison after he was convicted of distributing child porn from the halfway house where he was on parole from a previous sex offense.

David Hooke, 48, pleaded guilty last August to one count of possessing child pornography. Hooke had previously been convicted of the same offense in a Franklin County court in 2016, and served five years in prison.

Hooke came under scrutiny in 2021 when the FBI determined that files containing child porn had been shared by a “peer-to-peer” program from an IP address in Chesapeake. The address, however, didn’t belong to Hooke — it belonged to Morris Warren, a fellow resident of the same halfway house Hooke had been placed in after he was released from prison.

Warren was convicted of possession of child pornography in December 2022. When the FBI searched the halfway house, they also spoke to Hooke, and he told them that Warren had allowed him to share internet service.

When Hooke was interviewed a second time, he admitted to federal agents that he, too, had downloaded child pornography. When agents searched his computer, they found explicit images of children under the age of 12.

“The defendant’s criminal history and his circumstances at the time of the offense both support a significant prison sentence,” prosecutors wrote. “Hooke is a repeat offender whose record shows that he is not easily deterred.”

Prosecutors also included testimony from some of the abused children who were depicted in the material Hooke downloaded, writing in sentencing documents, “they are repeatedly re-traumatized by the continued circulation of images showing them experiencing the worst moments of their lives.”

In his own letter to the court, Hooke expressed deep regret, writing that he was “truly heartbroken and sorrowful.”

He also argued that the pandemic prevented him from getting therapy and supportive services that could have stopped him for re-offending.

“Mr. Hooke was required to check in using a computer, and often encountered difficulties,” he wrote. “Although he needed counseling and therapy, he was unable to pursue these services, and experienced problems with completing assignments and logging in generally.”

Hooke and the prosecution both requested a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years, which was granted by the court.