BEDFORD, Ind. -- A Bedford man was sentenced to over 150 years in prison last week after being convicted of multiple felony counts of child molestation. The Lawrence County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that Joseph Thomas was sentenced on Oct. 4 in Lawrence Superior Court 1 to a total of 180 years in the Indiana Department of Correction. Those charges include six counts of Class A child molestation and two counts of Class C felony criminal confinement. Local law enforcement first became aware of Thomas in 2020 when a trooper with Indiana State Police was informed by the Department of Child Services of multiple reports of sexual assaults of a 15-year-old. Booking photo of Joseph Thomas provided by Lawrence County Jail. Court documents show that the victim told authorities that Thomas had forced them and an older sibling to perform various sexual acts. The victim went on to disclose that the forced sexual encounters began when they were as young as four or five years old when Thomas would babysit them at a residence located on Vine Street in Mitchell while their parents were working. The victim recalled during the interview that Joseph would regularly watch pornographic films and display sexually explicit images on his phone or computer, according to court documents. During one of these experiences, the victim stated how Joseph made them view a video depicting a man having sex with a minor. The victim explained that Thomas would proceed to sexually touch them while the videos played. They attempted to pull away from Thomas but he was "bigger and stronger" and would prevent the victim from moving. The victim shared other experiences where Thomas told them to "stay still" while he performed sex acts on them. The victim recounted feeling afraid of Thomas if they attempted to pull away. The victim also described witnessing Thomas perform additional sex acts on their sibling while they were in the same room, court documents said. Investigators spoke with the second victim who shared their own experiences with Thomas. They said the sexual abuse began when Thomas would watch them get undressed or watch while they took a bath. The victim explained how the incidents then escalated to the point where Thomas was fondling them under a blanket while exposing them to pornographic materials. While watching these, the victim recalled Thomas telling them that "this is what people do to show love and to feel good." Court documents show that Thomas forced the second victim to participate in "games" that he made up. One of these games involved Thomas tying the minor up with duct tape to a chair and placing a phone on the floor in front of them. Thomas would goad the victim to try and break free from the chair to obtain the phone and call 911 for help, court documents said. The victim recalled biting through the duct tape and breaking through before Thomas would grab the phone from them. Both victims told police that the incidents stopped when they moved away. During an interview conducted at the Lawrence County Office of the Department of Child Services, Thomas reportedly denied the allegations before later admitting to touching the victims inappropriately. He denied ever showing them pornography but told investigators that he did keep pornography inside the house that was not properly secured. Thomas went on to admit to investigators that he did recall performing sex acts on each victim and touching them in their private areas "on at least two occasions." Court documents state that Thomas felt he was being blackmailed by the victims to engage in the sex acts and that he "was forced to do certain things." He later expressed relief that these allegations were brought to light so he could move past it. Thomas was found guilty of the felony charges on Sept. 12 following the conclusion of a two-day jury trial.