Huntsville Resident Convicted of Distributing Child Pornography
| U.S. Attorney’s Office October 22, 2013 |
HOUSTON—Reed C. LeBlanc, 20, a former resident of Huntsville, has entered a plea of guilty to distribution of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson.
The investigation started as a result of several downloads of child pornography over the Internet by a federal agent with the New York Field Office of the FBI that were traced to a computer used by LeBlanc.
On December 3, 2012, federal agents served a search warrant at LeBlanc’s Huntsville address and seized his Apple computer. A forensic exam was conducted, and it revealed approximately 82 images and 33 videos of child pornography.
U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas, who accepted the guilty plea, has set sentencing for January 14, 2014, at which time Leblanc faces at least five and up to 20 years’ imprisonment, as well as a possible $250,000 fine. Upon completion of any prison term imposed, LeBlanc also faces a maximum of life on supervised release during which the court can impose a number of special conditions designed to protect children and prohibit the use of the Internet. He will remain in custody pending that hearing.
The charges against were the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and officers with the Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
This case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Stabe, 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 the United States Attorneys' 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 individuals who sexually exploit children and 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."