Houma Man Arrested on Child Pornography Charges

NEW ORLEANS, LA—ROBERT KIM ISTRE, 55, of Houma, Louisiana, was arrested today by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation on a criminal complaint charging receipt of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Jim Letten and FBI Special Agent in Charge David Welker.

ISTRE was subsequently brought before U.S. Magistrate Judge Louis Moore, Jr. who remanded ISTRE to the custody of the U.S. Marshal’s Service. If convicted, ISTRE faces a mandatory minimum of five (5) years’ imprisonment and a maximum penalty of twenty (20) years, followed by up to a lifetime term of supervised release, a $250,000.00 fine, and ISTRE can be required to register as a sex offender. U.S. Attorney Letten reiterated that a complaint is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

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.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Project Safe Childhood Coordinator, Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba.