NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - RANDOLPH ARD (“ARD"), age 62, of Kentwood, Louisiana, entered a plea of guilty May 3, 2018 to Possession of Child Pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a)(4)(B).
According to documents filed in federal court, on Nov. 22, 2017, law enforcement officers with the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation arrested ARD at his Kentwood home after finding that ARD was in possession of several items, including a laptop computer and thumb drive that contained images depicting the sexual victimization of prepubescent children. Court records also revealed that ARD was previously convicted in Tangipahoa Parish Criminal District Court for pornography involving juveniles and indecent behavior with juveniles on March 6, 2013. ARD was on state parole supervision at the time of his arrest.
ARD faces a mandatory minimum penalty of ten (10) years imprisonment up to twenty (20) years, followed by up to a life term of supervised release, and a $250,000.00 fine.
ARD will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon on August 8, 2019.
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, the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation, and Louisiana Probation and Parole in investigating this matter. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Project Safe Childhood Coordinator and Financial Crimes Unit Supervisor, Assistant U. S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
