Mooringsport Man Sentenced to 240 Months in Prison for Distributing Child Pornography
| U.S. Attorney’s Office February 13, 2014 |
SHREVEPORT, LA—United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that Steven Deem, 52, of Mooringsport, Louisiana, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks to 240 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for distribution of child pornography. He is also required to register as a sex offender.
According to evidence presented at the guilty plea on October 10, 2013, authorities discovered Deem had transmitted images of child pornography online in September 2012. Upon further investigation, they found that he had previously uploaded a video to YouTube discussing his views on children and sex. The YouTube video also contained images of nude and semi-nude children. Deem’s home was searched on November 1, 2012, and authorities discovered more than 43 images of child pornography.
The Louisiana Attorney General’s High Technology Crime Unit, Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Earl M. Campbell 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 U.S. 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.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Homeland Security Investigations/Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at (866) DHS-2ICE. Investigators are available at all hours to answer hotline calls. Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp.
Those concerned may also leave tips with the FBI at tips.fbi.gov. Tips may be submitted anonymously. The Shreveport FBI office number is (318) 861-1890.