U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that ANDREW HUTCHINSON, age 24, of New Orleans, was charged today in a one-count Bill of Information with receipt of images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children.

If convicted, HUTCHINSON faces a mandatory minimum of five years’ imprisonment and a maximum term of imprisonment of twenty years, followed by up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine per count. He can also be required to register as a sex offender.

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.

U.S. Attorney Polite reiterated that the Bill of Information is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg is in charge of the prosecution.