Houma Man Sentenced to Over 17 Years in Prison on Child Pornography Charges

NEW ORLEANS, LA—ROBERT KIM ISTRE, 55, of Houma, Louisiana, was sentenced today in federal court by U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon to over 17 years (210 months) in prison for charges involving the sexual exploitation of children, announced U.S. Attorney Jim Letten. In addition, the defendant will be required to register as a sex offender as part of the Sex Offender Registration Notification Act and was ordered to serve five years' supervised release following imprisonment, during which time he will be under federal supervision and risks additional imprisonment should he violate any terms of the release.

According to court records, ISTRE pled guilty on February 25, 2010, admitting that he used his computer to search for, download, and save images of child pornography. On July 30, 2009, FBI special agents executed a federal search warrant at the defendant’s residence. During the execution of the warrant, agents seized a personal computer and numerous DVDs, CDs, and VHS tapes. A subsequent computer forensic search of ISTREs computer revealed that he was in possession of approximately 10,000 images and 300 videos depicting the sexual victimization of children.

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 was investigated by special agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution of this case was handled by Project Safe Childhood Coordinator, Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba.