U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. | U.S. Department of Justice
Blake Joseph Steiner, a former contractor from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has pleaded guilty to the distribution of child pornography. The announcement was made by United States Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. Steiner, 37, entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson and now faces a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and possibly a lifetime of supervised release with sex offender registration requirements.
During his plea hearing, Steiner admitted to initiating contact with an undercover agent through a mobile application group chat. He sought access to what he believed was a group dedicated to sharing child pornography. In response to the undercover agent's request for verification—"Live face video saying today’s date"—Steiner sent a video stating "Today is March 4th." To further gain entry into the supposed group, he shared a video depicting the sexual assault of a child under 12 years old by an adult male.
The investigation into this case was conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Homeland Security Investigations and the Louisiana State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Jene C. Clayton is handling the prosecution.
This case falls under Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse online. The project coordinates efforts between federal, state, and local resources to prosecute offenders and rescue victims. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at http://www.justice.gov/psc.
