RONALD BREAUX, age 67, of Raceland, Louisiana, pleaded guilty today before U. S. District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown for a crime involving the sexual exploitation of children, announced United States Attorney Dana J. Boente.
According to court documents, BREAUX used “peer-to-peer" file sharing programs on his computer to search for, download, and share videos and images of children as young as 18-months-old engaging in sexually explicit conduct. On Aug. 14, 2012, BREAUX distributed at least one video involving a girl approximately 8-years-old engaging in sexually explicit conduct to an undercover law enforcement agent. On Sept. 25, 2012, law enforcement officials, led by the State of Louisiana Department of Justice - Office of the Attorney General, executed a search warrant at BREAUX’S residence and seized two computers and five electronic storage devices. A subsequently forensic search of the items revealed that BREAUX had used a series of search terms indicative of child pornography to search for the images and videos. After identifying files of interest, most of which had very explicit titles, BREAUX catalogued the pictures and videos in computer folders he created with names like “young," “crime," and “incest." In total, BREAUX downloaded, viewed, and saved at least 1,485 images and 479 videos of children being victimized.
BREAUX faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 5 years and a maximum penalty of 20 years, followed by up to a life term of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. He can also be required to register as a sex offender. Sentencing is scheduled for November 14, 2013, at 10:00 am.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources."
This case was investigated by agents from the State of Louisiana Department of Justice - Office of the Attorney General. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Jordan Ginsberg and Matthew S. Chester.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
