Pornographic images on hard drive brings Internet crimes charges

After an investigation into the distribution of child pornography over the Internet, a Louisiana man was recently arrested by local and state authorities. Detectives from the Sex Crimes/Child Abuse Division of the Plaquemines Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation toward the end of November. The 30-year-old man from Ponchatoula is now facing Internet crimes charges that include child pornography distribution.

As part of the task force investigation, an undercover detective reportedly received thousands of videos and images of young girls online. The material contained mostly pictures of toddlers and babies but included depictions of girls from newborns through 9-year-olds that were sexually posed in the nude. Investigators say they then determined that the computer from which the files originated was located in the home of the accused man.

A search warrant was obtained and executed at which time many illegal images were purportedly found on the hard drive of his computer. Along with the hard drive, several other devices were seized during the search, and those will be searched for further evidence. The accused man allegedly admitted to downloading child pornography, claiming it was only curiosity that made him do it.

He was booked on 17 counts of possession of child pornography along with the distribution of such material. These are serious charges, and this individual will likely benefit from having an experienced criminal defense attorney to advocate for him. A lawyer can examine the way in which the images could have been added to the memory of the hard drive of the accused man’s computer. The burden of proof will be on the prosecution, and the Louisiana man will remain innocent until and unless guilt of Internet crimes can be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

Source: The Times-Picayune, “Ponchatoula man accused of sharing almost 2,400 images of child pornography”, Michelle Hunter, Dec. 15, 2015