Gonzales Man Sentenced to 198 Months in Federal Prison for Child Pornography

 United States Attorney Brandon J.  Fremin announced that U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles sentenced Taylor Haynes, age 29, of Gonzales, Louisiana, to serve 198 months in federal prison following his conviction for distribution and possession of child pornography.  The Court also ordered that, after imprisonment, Haynes serve five years of supervised release, during which Haynes would be restricted from contact with minors.  As part of the judgment issued in this case, Haynes was also ordered to pay restitution to his victims in the amount of $21,000, and he will be required to register as a convicted sex offender for life. 

According to court records in this case, law enforcement officials received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reporting an incident where Haynes utilized the Facebook Messenger application to distribute child pornography to another Facebook user.  Acting on this tip, law enforcement officials obtained and executed a search warrant on Haynes’s residence.  During the search of the residence, law enforcement officials learned that Haynes possessed over 20 images and 40 videos of prepubescent minors and minors under 12 years old, engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  The search also revealed a number of videos and images of Haynes sexually abusing a dog.

U.S. Attorney Fremin stated, “This conviction and sentence contributes to the safety and security of children not only in our community, but around the world.  Our office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to aggressively pursue individuals whose actions exploit our youth.  I applaud the work of our prosecutor and local, state and federal agents involved in this matter.”

“Investigating individuals like Taylor Haynes is one of the highest priorities of the FBI. Mr. Haynes violated innocent lives and we will continue to take an aggressive approach to identify unknown individuals involved in the sexual exploitation of children and the production of child sexual abuse material,” stated Special Agent in Charge Bryan Vorndran.  “This sentence is the culmination of an investigation conducted by Special Agents and Intelligence Analysts who work tirelessly to remove sexual predators from children’s lives through the justice system.”  

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood combines 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.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with substantial assistance provided by the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation and the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office.  It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jamie A. Flowers, Jr., who also serves as Deputy Criminal Chief.