BRENTWOOD — An East Bay youth football referee is headed to state prison after pleading guilty to felony child exploitation and firearm charges, prosecutors said.
Tommy Ray Vance, 48, of Brentwood, was sentenced Monday to two years and 10 months in prison, according to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office. A judge also ordered him to register for 20 years as a sex offender after he is released from custody.
In April, Vance arranged to meet a person he believed to be a 13-year-old child at a park in Brentwood for sex, prosecutors said. The child was actually a Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office detective, and Vance was arrested when he arrived at the park.
Authorities served a search warrant at Vance’s home and discovered more than a dozen guns, which he was prohibited from owning due to a 1996 conviction for arson, intimidating a witness and assault with a deadly weapon, according to the district attorney’s office.
At the time of his arrest, Vance was working part-time as a volunteer youth football referee in the county, prosecutors said.
Vance has been in custody since his arrest and will begin serving his sentence right away.
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