RETRIAL DELAYS SENTENCING OF E-MAIL SEX CRIMINAL.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

Sentencing for an Antelope Acres man convicted of sending sexually explicit e-mail to a 14-year-old female relative was postponed Tuesday until after his retrial on two felony counts on which a previous jury deadlocked.

Thomas Ryan Nault, 39, was charged with seven felony counts of sending computer messages with the intent to seduce a minor. A jury last month acquitted him of five counts, deadlocked on two and found him guilty of three lesser counts of sending harmful matter to a minor, officials said.

Nault faces up to three years in jail on the misdemeanor convictions, but sentencing will be delayed until after his Feb. 10 retrial on the two felonies, officials said.

At the time of his arrest in November 1998, Nault was an airplane mechanic for Aerotherm Corp., which works at NASA's Dryden Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base.

Authorities said he sent the messages to the girl, who is a relative, using a National Aeronautics and Space Administration computer and e-mail account. His arrested followed an investigation by special agents of the NASA inspector general, District Attorney's Office and Dryden security officials. Nault remains free after posting $50,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear Jan. 10 for a pretrial hearing in Antelope Municipal Court.