Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana
United States Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. announced that Barry Paul Vining from Denham Springs, Louisiana, has been sentenced to 78 months in federal prison for distributing child pornography. U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson handed down the sentence, which includes five years of supervised release following the prison term. Additionally, Vining is required to pay $357,000 in restitution and must register as a sex offender upon his release.
As part of his guilty plea, Vining admitted that on November 27, 2022, he distributed two images of child pornography by uploading them to an internet file-sharing service. This platform allowed users worldwide to download and share these images. At the time of distribution, Vining also possessed numerous files containing both images and videos of child pornography.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Paul L. Pugliese.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a national initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse online. The project seeks to locate and prosecute offenders while identifying and rescuing victims through collaboration between federal, state, and local resources.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.
