JARED CARRELL (“CARRELL"), age 38, of Thibodaux, Louisiana, was indicted Friday, Sept. 21, 2018 for receipt of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Peter G. Strasser.
On May 30, 2018, law enforcement officers with the Louisiana State Police found CARRELL in possession of a LG cellular device containing images depicting the sexual victimization of prepubescent children. On July 9, 2018, members of the Louisiana State Police and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, executed a search warrant at CARRELL’s Thibodaux residence. At which time, CARRELL was arrested and charged with possessing child pornographic materials. Today’s indictment charges CARRELL with knowingly receiving and attempting to receive images of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. CARRELL will appear before a U.S. magistrate judge for his arraignment on this indictment in the next two weeks.
U. S. Attorney Strasser reiterated that the Indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
If convicted, CARRELL faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five (5) years imprisonment up to twenty (20) years, followed by up to a life term of supervised release, and a $250,000.00 fine.
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 Strasser praised the work of the U. S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Louisiana State Police 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
