A former cruise line employee was sentenced in federal court this week for possessing child sexual abuse material. Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that Reza Heta Pratama, a 29-year-old citizen of Indonesia, received a 48-month prison sentence on September 9, 2025. The sentencing was handed down by United States District Judge Darrel James Papillion.
According to court records, Pratama was arrested in July 2024 at the Erato Street Cruise Terminal in New Orleans after special agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Homeland Security Investigations discovered he possessed child pornography.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Papillion ordered Pratama to serve ten years of supervised release and pay a $100 mandatory special assessment fee as well as an additional $100 under 18 U.S.C. § 2259A. Restitution is also required for all victims, with a hearing scheduled for November 4, 2025.
“These cases were 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. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov,” according to Simpson.
The investigation involved cooperation from U.S. Customs and Border Protection along with Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brittany L. Reed from the Violent Crimes/Strike Force Unit prosecuted the case.
