While a LaFayette man will likely spend the rest of his life in prison, the child he sexually abused may also suffer for the rest of hers, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Francey Hakes. 

James “Bart” Huskey, 39, was sentenced Thursday to serve 70 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release as well as $12,026 restitution in U.S. District Court in Rome.

Huskey, a former tennis coach, pleaded guilty after prosecutors said he sexually molested a girl for four years, starting when she was five, and posted footage of the activity on an encrypted Web site for others to view.

The series of videos and photos, known as the “Tara” series, has spread internationally like a rash among child pornography circles and is likely to continue in the future, prosecutors said.

Federal agents from as far as Japan have been called recently to offer testimony in cases where the “Tara” series has been found.

“The child is never going to be able to get those images back,” said Hakes.

The material also carries an emotional burden for investigators and prosecutors, who had to review the disturbing images in order to gather evidence in the case.

“This was one of the very hardest cases that we ever prosecuted,” Hakes said.

The child was put in protective custody when Huskey was arrested in June 2008 and is currently undergoing therapy, according to authorities.

“Children like this one are at a high risk for depression, for suicide, for victimization again as an adult or even to become an offender herself,” Hakes said.

Judge Robert L. Vining Jr. said, with 40 years experience as a trial judge and six years as a district attorney, he had only seen one other case that rivaled the horrific acts Huskey perpetrated.

“There is a need to incapacitate this defendant and eliminate any ability to commit criminal activity on his part,” Vining said. “The public needs to be protected from Mr. Huskey.”

This isn’t the end of the road for Huskey. He still faces charges on the state level.

Chris Arnt, chief assistant district attorney for the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit, said state charges are forthcoming.

“We absolutely are (filing more charges),” Arnt said. “And we’ll probably add to those as we go through (the investigation) as well.”

The federal charges only concern the actual making and distribution of pornography involving a child. State charges could include sexual assault.

Rome News Tribune