Scott Martel, 36, of Eunice, pled guilty on July 21 in federal court to Receipt of Child Pornography and faces up to 20 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for October 13.
United States Attorney Zachary A. Keller said, “Protecting children from sexual exploitation is one of the highest priorities of this office. We will continue working alongside our federal partners to bring offenders who engage in this despicable conduct to speedy justice.”
According to court documents, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents began investigating Martel in March 2025 after identifying communications in a Chatib chatroom that described graphic sexual acts he intended to commit with minors. These chats were linked back to Martel’s residential address. Agents executed a search warrant at his home, where Martel acknowledged his involvement and additional electronic evidence was found showing he knowingly received illegal images, including those depicting a young child engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The investigation established that Martel used multiple online platforms and devices over time for these offenses.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elliott Cassidy with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Denise Duhon.
This case was investigated as part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse by marshaling resources across federal, state, and local agencies.