LAKE CHARLES, La. - United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a federal jury found a Texas man guilty late Friday of attempting to use a child to make a sexually explicit video and of persuading and convincing the mother to allow sexual exploitation of the child.
The jury found Mark Anthony Thompson, 49, of Richmond, Texas, guilty of one count of attempting to use a child to produce a visual depiction or production of child pornography and one count of attempting to entice a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity. United States District Judge Patricia Minaldi presided over the trial, which started Monday, August 24th, and ended late Friday, August 28th; the jury deliberated for approximately one hour. Evidence admitted at trial revealed that Thompson persuaded a Louisiana mother to use her child to unknowingly produce a sexually explicit video and tried to further sexually exploit the child. In December of 2013, the victim and her father found disturbing messages, pictures and a video from the defendant on his wife’s phone, and the father reported the matter to the DeRidder Police Department.
“It took courage for any victim to come forward under these circumstances," Finley stated. “This young girl and her father are to be commended for assisting law enforcement in stopping this abuser. I want to encourage all victims of sexual abuse to speak up and know that there is help. You are not alone, and you are not at fault. I want to thank the prosecutors and the state, local and federal law enforcement officers who worked diligently to ensure that justice was served in this case. "
“Child sexual abuse is one of the most heinous crimes HSI investigates as it steals the innocence of children and leaves lasting scars on victims," said Raymond R. Parmer Jr., special agent in charge of HSI New Orleans. “Criminals who prey on children will continue to be one of the agency’s highest priorities in order to protect the innocent from these terrible crimes."
Homeland Security Investigations, the DeRidder Police Department, Louisiana State Police and the Louisiana Department of Social Services conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Myers P. Namie and John Luke Walker are prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Homeland Security Investigations/Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) encourage the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at (866) 347-2423. Investigators are available at all hours to answer hotline calls. Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp. Tips may be reported anonymously.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
