NEW ORLEANS - U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser announced that DONALD TROSCLAIR, age 57, a resident of Jefferson, Louisiana, pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Martin L.C. Feldman after previously being charged with receipt of images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children, in violation of 18 U.S.C. ' 2252(a)(2).
According to court documents, Special Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI") determined that TROSCLAIR was accessing a forum located on the internet whose singular purpose was to act as a child pornography bulletin board and website dedicated to the advertisement and distribution of child pornography and the discussion of matters pertinent to the sexual abuse of children, including the safety and security of individuals who seek to sexually exploit children online. Law enforcement officials executed a search warrant at TROSCLAIR’S residence on Feb. 28, 2018, and seized several electronic items including a laptop computer, a desktop computer, an external hard drive, and several discs that were determined to contain images and videos depicting the sexual victimization of children.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation then conducted a forensic review of the seized devices and determined that TROSCLAIR had used the devices to search for, download, and save approximately 11,175 images and 6 videos of child pornography between April 2011 and February 2018. TROSCLAIR stored the images and videos in folders he created on his computers, external hard drive, and loose storage media, to catalogue and organize the files. The materials possessed by TROSCLAIR were of prepubescent children as young as less than three (3)-years-old and depicted the child victims engaging in “sexually explicit conduct," as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 2256.
TROSCLAIR faces a mandatory minimum of five (5) years and a maximum term of imprisonment of twenty (20) years, a fine of up to $250,000.00, between five years and life of supervised release after imprisonment, and a mandatory $100 special assessment. Sentencing before Judge Feldman has been scheduled for Dec. 19, 2018.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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.
U.S. Attorney Strasser praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and its Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force, including representatives from the Kenner Police Department, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, and Louisiana State Police. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
