Distributing Child Pornography Lands Huntsville Man in Federal Prison

HOUSTON—Reed C. LeBlanc, 20, a former resident of Huntsville, will now be serving a federal prison sentence of nearly 11 years following his conviction of distribution of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson. LeBlanc pleaded guilty Tuesday, October 22, 2013.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas, who took into consideration that LeBlanc had molested a young girl when he was a juvenile, ordered a total sentence of 130 months in federal prison. The sentence will be immediately followed by 30 years of supervised release, during which time he will be under special conditions designed to protect children and prohibit the use of the Internet. He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.

The investigation started as a result of several downloads of child pornography over the Internet by a federal agent with the New York Office of the FBI, which 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, revealing approximately 82 images and 33 videos of child pornography.

LeBlanc will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The charges against were the result of an investigation conducted by the Texas City office of 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.”