A Louisiana man has been sentenced to life in federal prison, followed by a consecutive 10-year term, for multiple internet sex crimes involving a minor in Martin County, Florida. Nicolas James Palmisano, 45, of Destrehan, Louisiana, received the sentence from U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez on August 25 after being found guilty by a federal jury in May.
Palmisano was also ordered to serve 20 years of supervised release upon completion of his prison sentence and to pay restitution.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Palmisano was previously convicted in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana in 2019 for sexual offenses involving a juvenile. After serving four years in prison, he registered as a sex offender with the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office.
In May 2024, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) discovered that a minor possessed sexually explicit material on her phone. A forensic examiner recovered messages and media sent from Palmisano’s number between February and May 2024. Despite knowing the recipient was 15 years old, Palmisano sent thousands of explicit messages and images as well as audio and video recordings of himself. He also solicited and obtained explicit images from the minor.
Palmisano was arrested in August 2024 at the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office during his annual Sexual Offender Registration review by members of the FBI and MCSO. A search warrant executed at his residence led to the recovery of his phone containing sexually explicit material exchanged with the minor.
The investigation was conducted by FBI Fort Pierce with help from MCSO, FBI New Orleans, and St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Fort Pierce Branch Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Lineberger and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Kahn Obenauf prosecuted the case.
“This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice,” according to information provided about Project Safe Childhood efforts led by U.S Attorneys’ Offices and other federal agencies.
Further details about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
To report online child sexual exploitation or abuse, individuals are encouraged to visit https://report.cybertip.org/ or call 1-800-843-5678 through resources provided by NCMEC in partnership with law enforcement agencies.
Court documents related to this case are available on the Southern District of Florida website (www.flsd.uscourts.gov) or via http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 24-cr-14044.
