Denham Springs Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Federal Prison for Child Pornography Convictions

United States Attorney Brandon J. Fremin announced that, this morning, Chief United States District Court Judge Brian A. Jackson sentenced MICHAEL STANLEY CLARK, age 32, of Denham Springs, Louisiana, to 25 years in federal prison following his conviction for production, distribution, transportation, and possession of child pornography.  The Court also ordered CLARK to make restitution payments to his victims in the amount of $9,000 and pay a $500 special assessment.  CLARK will also be required to serve a 10-year term of supervised release upon his release from federal prison and to register as a sex offender.       

CLARK’s prosecution resulted from two separate undercover investigations – one handled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and another by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Cyber Crime Unit of the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office. 

On October 15, 2016, CLARK distributed images and videos of minors and prepubescent minors engaged in various sex acts to an undercover HSI agent.  Two days later, on October 17, 2016, CLARK distributed additional images of child pornography, including a series of images he took of his minor child, to an FBI undercover agent. 

After law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at his residence on October 20, 2016, CLARK admitted that he distributed child pornography images to other individuals whom he met online, including images he produced of his minor child.  In total, CLARK possessed 298 still images and 333 videos of child pornography on various electronic devices and media. 

The forensic review showed that CLARK’s online child sexual exploitation activity ranged from 2009 through October 2016.  In addition, through cyber tip reports made by service providers to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), law enforcement learned that CLARK had uploaded child pornography images and videos to online photo management and content sharing services.           

U.S. Attorney Fremin stated, “This investigation and prosecution demonstrates the commitment of the entire law enforcement community – federal, state, and local – to work together to protect our children from sexual exploitation.  Today’s sentence not only punishes CLARK, it also serves as a stark reminder of the severe potential consequences that await others inclined to engage in similar conduct.  I am grateful for the excellent work of all those involved in bringing this defendant to justice, including our strong partners at FBI, HSI, and the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office, as well as the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office and District Attorney’s Office.  I look forward to continuing to work together to aggressively pursue child predators, such as CLARK.”

Jeff Landry, Attorney General for the State of Louisiana, stated, “My office works closely with our law enforcement partners to ensure criminals are held accountable for their actions.  Partnership is an important part of the process and we are glad our investigation led to a strong conviction by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.  I commend Mr. Fremin and his team for seeing this through.”

Eric Rommal, Special Agent-in-Charge of the New Orleans Division of the FBI, stated, “The FBI is dedicated to protecting our children and community from predators.   We will continue to work closely with our local, state and federal partners to identify, investigate and arrest those who pose a threat to children.  This investigation, prosecution and sentence demonstrates that commitment and coordination.”

“HSI will continue to aggressively investigate and arrest the people who seek to prey on the most vulnerable in our society,” said Thomas M. Annello, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the New Orleans Division of HSI.  “Thanks to our efforts with HSI Portland, Maine and the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office we’ve ensured Clark will be held accountable for his crimes.”

This matter was investigated by HSI, FBI, and the Cyber Crime Unit of the Criminal Division of the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office, with assistance from the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Livingston Parish District Attorney’s Office.  Assistant United States Attorney Cam T. Le prosecuted this case. 

These federal charges are 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 the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  Click on the “Resources” tab for information about Internet safety education.