It’s one year and one day in jail for a man who was caught threatening to kill and rape pro-life activists at Operation Rescue and their children in a phone message.
Christopher M. Thompson, 22, of Wichita, Kansas, pleaded guilty to one count of making a threat.
WND reported last year Thompson threatened: “I’m gonna rape your daughter and I’m gonna kill your family and the devil’s gonna burn you. He’s gonna kill you and I’m gonna kill you and the devil’s gonna burn you.”
Operation Rescue said that when Thompson was indicted last winter, he admitted during a hearing to making three threatening calls to the female Operation Rescue employee in one day, although he had actually made many more, the organization said.
Upon his sentencing by U.S. District Judge John W. Broomes, Thompson was placed in the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons.
Thompson called the office of Operation Rescue and the cellphone of Senior Vice President Cheryl Sullenger.
After the initial round of threats, Sullenger blocked Thompson’s Kansas number, and he switched to an internet voice protocol to continue making threats from his computer.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart asked for a sentence of a year in prison. His defense team asked for probation because of his “drug addiction, anger, and mental heath issues,” OR said.
Sullenger and Mellissa Newman-Mariotti, the wife of Operation Rescue President Troy Newman, made victim statements in court that explained the impact Thompson’s threats had on their families. While Sullenger was directly threatened, Newman-Mariotti had listened to a voicemail message Thompson left at Operation Rescue’s office and thought at the time he was threatening her daughters.
Thompson also was ordered to have no contact with Sullenger, her family, Newman-Mariotti and her family, and Operation Rescue and its employees.
“I am relieved that Mr. Thompson is in a place where he can continue to consider the consequences of his actions and take measures to amend his life,” said Sullenger.
“I take no pleasure in his incarceration, but I believe that it was a just sentence that will be for the best of everyone involved. This is a step toward restoring the sense of security he took from our families. I will continue to pray for him and hope he can get the help he needs to become a productive adult and a good father to his two children.”
