U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that REHER MORRIS, age 28, of Houma, was indicted today for crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children.
According to today’s Indictment, beginning at an unknown time to on or about December 8, 2015, MORRIS knowingly downloaded and received images and videos depicting the sexual victimization of minors.
If convicted, MORRIS faces a mandatory minimum sentence of not less than five years and a maximum sentence of up to twenty years imprisonment, followed by up to a lifetime term of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
U. S. Attorney Polite reiterated that the Indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
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."
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the U. S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the Louisiana Bureau of Investigations’ Cyber Crime Unit in investigating this matter. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Project Safe Childhood Coordinator and Fraud Section Chief, Assistant U. S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
