Louisiana man sentenced to 10 years in prison for receipt of child pornography

NEW ORLEANS - Tony Templet, 45, of Gretna, La., was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for receipt of child pornography, following an investigation conducted by special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Templet was also sentenced to serve a five-year term of supervised release, during which time he will be under federal supervision and risks additional imprisonment should he violate any terms of the release. He is also required to register as a sex offender. The sentence was handed down by U. S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon of the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Templet pleaded guilty in March to having purchased access to child pornography websites. On Dec. 30, 2008, ICE HSI special agents seized Templet's computer and related electronic media from his apartment. Templet confessed to using his computer to search for, download, and save videos of children being sexually victimized. Further, Templet told ICE special agents that he had a child pornography collection that included videos of children as young as 10-years-old. Templet said that he was confident he was the only person with access to his computer because it was password protected.

Along with the assistance of Interpol and other federal law enforcement agencies, ICE HSI agents were able to determine that Templet had not only subscribed to international child pornography websites but that he also possessed and had downloaded videos of previously identified children throughout the United States. In total, ICE HSI computer forensic examiners found approximately 206 videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children.

"All children have an absolute right to grow up free from the fear of sexual exploitation,"

said Raymond R. Parmer, Jr., special agent in charge of the ICE HSI office in New Orleans. "HSI relentlessly pursues predators who sexually abuse children, whether that abuse is physical in nature or if it is accomplished by exploiting their images. The sentencing of Templet sends a strong message that ICE HSI will not tolerate such despicable crimes. Our agents will continue to police cyberspace and target those who exploit one of the most defenseless segments of our society - our children."

This case was part of Operation Predator, which is a nationwide ICE initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers. Since Operation Predator was launched in July 2003, ICE agents have arrested almost 12,800 individuals.

ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.

This case was also 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 U. S. 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.

The case was prosecuted by Project Safe Childhood Coordinator, Assistant U. S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba as well as Assistant U. S. Attorneys Matthew S. Chester and Jordan Ginsberg.

-- ICE --