Former Fort Polk Soldier Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Producing Child Pornography

LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that Brandon Hall, 23, a former Fort Polk Soldier from Yakima, Washington, was sentenced on November 19, 2019, by U.S. District Judge James D. Cain Jr., to 15 years in federal prison followed by 10 years of supervised release, for production of child pornography. Hall pleaded guilty on April 18, 2019.

According to court documents, from November 30, 2017, to December 26, 2017, Hall had an online sexual relationship with a 14-year-old minor female living in Missouri. During their time communicating online via web camera, the defendant solicited and captured sexually explicit video of the minor.

The FBI and U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Luke Walker prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States 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 sexually exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) also encourage the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at (866) 347-2423. Investigators are available at all hours to answer hotline calls. Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online by visiting their website at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp or through the Operation Predator smartphone application www.ice.gov/predator/smartphone-app. Tips may be submitted anonymously.

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