Two men were sentenced today and one pled guilty in separate federal cases to charges relating to the sexual victimization of children, announced U. S. Attorney Jim Letten today.

In the first case, KEVIN D. ESLER, 20, of Meraux, Louisiana, was sentenced by U. S. District Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt to over five (5) years (70 months) in prison receipt of child pornography. In addition, he will be required to register as a sex offender as part of the Sex Offender Registration Notification Act and was ordered to serve twenty (20) years supervised release during which time he will be under federal supervision and risks additional imprisonment should he violate any terms of the release. ESLER was ordered to pay $37,750 in restitution to the victim.

According to court documents, ESLER pled guilty on December 2, 2010, admitting he possessed and received images depicting the sexual victimization of minors through the use of an XBOX game console and a cellular telephone. ESLER was arrested by federal agents after receiving a Cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. ESLER successfully convinced a 12 year old boy to send a sexually explicit image of himself to ESLER.

This case was investigated by Special Agents with the U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

In the second case, JAMES A. WALKER, JR., 70, of Covington, Louisiana, was also sentenced today by U. S. District Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt to over five (5) years (63 months) in prison for receipt of child pornography. In addition, he will be required to register as a sex offender as part of the Sex Offender Registration Notification Act and was ordered to serve supervised release for the rest of his life, during which time he will be under federal supervision and risks additional imprisonment should he violate any terms of the release. WALKER was also ordered to pay a $2500 fine.

According to court documents, WALKER previously pled guilty on December 22, 2011, admitting that he knowingly subscribed to a child pornography website, and received and possessed digital images depicting the sexual exploitation of minors. Federal agents determined that WALKER was using his computer to acquire child pornography. WALKER was found to be in possession of approximately 170 images depicting the sexual victimization of children. On May 14, 2009, special agents with Homeland Security Investigations seized two personal computers and three hard drives that were used by WALKER to acquire and store images of child pornography.

This case was investigated by Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations.

In the third case, DANIEL DAIGLE, 42, of Thibodaux, Louisiana, pled guilty today before U. S. District Judge Martin L. C. Feldman to a one count indictment charging receipt of child pornography.

According to the factual basis, DAIGLE admitted that he received and possessed sexually explicit images of children through the use of the internet. A computer forensic examination revealed that DAIGLE had downloaded and was in possession of 727 images and 8 videos depicting the sexual victimization of children.

DAIGLE faces a mandatory minimum of fifteen (15) years and a possible maximum of forty (40) years imprisonment, a life term of supervised release and be required to give a DNA sample, and will have to register as a sex offender. DAIGLE was previously convicted of Carnal Knowledge of a Juvenile on November 10, 1997. Sentencing has been scheduled for September 7, 2011.

This case is being investigated by the U. S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations.

These cases were 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 prosecutions of these cases are being handled by Project Safe Childhood Coordinator, Assistant U. S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba.

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