October 1, 2015

Shreveport Resident Pleads Guilty to Producing Child Pornography

SHREVEPORT, LA—United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that a Shreveport resident pleaded guilty to producing child pornography. Jason Carl Fruge, 35, of Shreveport, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote to one count of production of child pornography. According to evidence presented at the guilty plea, during the course of investigating Fruge for other offenses, agents found a video on Fruge’s computer of a minor male child engaged in a sexually explicit sex act. Fruge pretended to be an attractive female in order to convince the minor to engage in the sexual act. Fruge directed the minor child to commit the sexual explicit act and recorded the minor using an online video chat service similar to Skype on June 9, 2014.

Fruge faces 15 to 30 years in prison, five years to life of supervised release, a $250,000 fine and mandatory registration as a sex offender. A sentencing date of January 28, 2016 was set.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative 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, Project Safe Childhood combines 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.

Those concerned may leave tips with the FBI at tips.fbi.gov. Tips may be submitted anonymously. The Shreveport FBI office number is (318) 861-1890.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Homeland Security Investigations/Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) also 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 by visiting their website at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp or through the Operation Predator smartphone application (http://www.ice.gov/predator/smartphone-app). Tips also may be submitted anonymously.

The FBI and ICE Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert W. Gillespie Jr. is prosecuting the case.