U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans | U.S. Department of Justice
A Hammond resident, Joseph Authement, has pleaded guilty to charges related to the receipt of materials involving the sexual exploitation of minors. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans on December 18, 2025. Authement, aged 25, admitted to violating Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2252(a)(2) and (b)(1). He now faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and could serve up to twenty years. Additionally, he may be fined up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss related to the offense. Following his release from prison, Authement will be subject to supervised release for a minimum of five years and potentially for life. A $100 mandatory special assessment fee is also applicable.
Court documents reveal that Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) executed a federal search warrant on March 11, 2024, leading to the seizure of Authement's Apple iPhone at his residence in Hammond, Louisiana. The phone contained images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of minors. Further investigations revealed that Authement used Telegram to download and purchase child sex abuse materials.
The sentencing is scheduled for March 19, 2025, before United States District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse. The project brings together resources from federal, state, and local levels to prosecute offenders who exploit children online and rescue victims.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office acknowledged assistance from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Rio Grande Valley Child Exploitation Investigations Task Force in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba is handling the prosecution as Chief of the Financial Crimes Unit.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
