Norco Man Charged with Receipt of Child Pornography

NEW ORLEANS—Jason Long, age 35, of Norco, Louisiana, was charged in a one-count bill of information for the sexual exploitation of children, announced United States Attorney Jim Letten.

On March 1, 2011, a federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment charging Long with receipt of child pornography. Long pled guilty on April 25, 2012, to charges within the indictment, specifically receiving images depicting the sexual victimization of children. According to the plea documents, Long used his computers to access the Internet. Once able to access the Internet, Long used peer-to-peer file sharing programs to download approximately 232 pictures and 169 videos of children victimized. Evidence demonstrated that Long searched for images depicting minors engaged in specific types of conduct to download. The images Long searched for and ultimately downloaded were of children as young as 6 years old. As to these charges, Long faces a maximum penalty of 20 years, followed by up to a life term of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. He can also be required to register as a sex offender. Sentencing has been scheduled for October 10, 2012, at 9:00 a.m., before the Honorable Helen G. Berrigan.

According to the bill of information filed today, beginning around February 13, 2006 and continuing to on or about November 28, 2007, Long permitted a minor of whom he had custody and control to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of that conduct and sent the depiction from the state of Oklahoma to locations, including the United Kingdom. If convicted, Long faces a maximum sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment, and/or a fine of $250,000.

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 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.”

This case was investigated by special agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Jordan Ginsberg.