BATON ROUGE, LA—United States Attorney Walt Green announced today that U.S. District Judge Shelly D. Dick has sentenced W. STEVEN MANNEAR, age 62, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to one hundred twenty (120) months in federal prison as a result of his receipt of child pornography over a three (3) year period. MANNEAR was also sentenced to pay restitution in the amount of $2,000 to one of his victims, to pay a fine of $20,000, and to serve a five (5) year term of supervised release following imprisonment.

On August 7, 2014, MANNEAR pled guilty to receiving child pornography via the Internet from at least August 2009 through September 2012, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a)(2).

MANNEAR’S online criminal activities were initially uncovered by a Special Agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. On March 26, 2013, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office executed simultaneous federal search warrants on MANNEAR’S house, law firm, and car. Pursuant to the search warrants, law enforcement agents seized, among other things, two computers that belonged to MANNEAR and which contained a large amount of child pornography.

United States Attorney Green stated: “Today’s sentence should serve as a reminder that child pornographers, regardless of their occupation or station in life, will face significant punishment in federal court. Attorneys, like anyone else, must comply with the law and will be held accountable for criminal activity, whether it be child pornography or any other federal criminal offense. It is unfortunate that the actions of criminals like this defendant cause the honest endeavors of the vast majority in the legal profession to be overshadowed.”

“Today’s sentencing is a result of months of collaborative efforts among law enforcement agencies,” EBR Sheriff Sid Gautreaux said. “Such crimes will not be tolerated, and we will continue to be vigilant in working together to identify those responsible and bring them to justice.”

This matter was handled by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Louisiana, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Chris Dippel, with assistance from Assistant United States Attorney Rene Salomon.