U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans | U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that Christopher Michael Sommers, a 42-year-old resident of Slidell, Louisiana, was sentenced on December 18, 2024, for possession of materials involving the sexual exploitation of minors. The sentence was handed down by United States District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo and includes ten years in prison followed by fifteen years of supervised release. Sommers is also required to pay a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.
The sentencing included a ten-year mandatory minimum enhancement due to Sommers' previous conviction on December 13, 2011, for receipt of child pornography in the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Court documents reveal that the case originated from an undercover online investigation conducted by the Apache Junction Police Department in Arizona. This investigation targeted individuals sharing Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). On April 3, 2024, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), along with the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation, executed a federal search warrant at Sommers' residence in Slidell. During this search, authorities discovered a Samsung USB thumb drive containing 950 images and videos depicting the sexual victimization of minors.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. The project aims to locate and prosecute individuals exploiting children via the Internet while identifying and rescuing victims.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office acknowledged the assistance provided by several agencies including Homeland Security Investigations, St Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, Apache Junction Police Department, and Louisiana Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba is handling the prosecution as Chief of the Financial Crimes Unit.
