St. Charles Parish Man, Chad Michael Hotard, Sentenced To 15 Years In Prison For Producing And Distributing Child Pornography

CHAD MICHAEL HOTARD, age 28, a resident of Luling, Louisiana, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge H. Ginger Berrigan, arising from his conviction for two counts of production and one count of distribution of child pornography, announced U. S. Attorney Kenneth Allen Polite, Jr.

According to court documents, HOTARD knowingly employed, used, persuaded, induced, enticed and coerced a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct in order to produce child pornography on two separate occasions, December 13, 2012 and March 12, 2013.  In addition, HOTARD distributed digital images and computer images of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct on March 13, 2013.  HOTARD has been in federal custody since his arrest on April 15, 2013.

HOTARD was sentenced by Judge Berrigan to 15 years’ imprisonment, to be followed by a term of supervised release of 15 years.  In addition, he will be required to register as a sex offender pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States 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 case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations and the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office and prosecution of this case was handled by Fraud Unit Chief and Project Safe Childhood Coordinator, Assistant U. S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba.