Metairie Man Sentenced in Federal Child Pornography Case

NEW ORLEANS, LA—TERENCE RHODES, 66, of Metairie, Louisiana, was sentenced today in federal court by U.S. District Judge Lance M. Africk to seventy-eight (78) months in prison, followed by a life term of supervised release for crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children, announced U.S. Attorney Jim Letten. Additionally, Judge Africk ordered that the defendant is not to have any unsupervised contact with anyone under 18 years of age, cannot use a computer or the Internet, and must give a DNA sample.

According to the court record, RHODES previously pled guilty on October 2, 2008, to a Bill of Information for possession of materials involving the sexual exploitation of minors. According to documents filed in federal court, FBI agents executed a federal search warrant on June 11, 2008, at the defendant’s residence on Lime Street in Metairie, Louisiana. Agents discovered that RHODES was in possession of approximately 5,900 images depicting the sexual victimization of children.

Judge Africk remanded RHODES to the custody of the U.S. Marshal’s Service.

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. 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.

The investigation was conducted by special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution is being handled by Project Safe Childhood Coordinator, Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba.