Independence Man Pleads Guilty to Receipt of Child Pornography

U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that ROY DAVID MELANCON, age 40, of Independence, Louisiana, pleaded guilty yesterday before United States District Judge Carl J. Barbier to a one-count Indictment charging him with receipt of images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children.

According to court documents, law enforcement officials executed a search warrant at MELANCON’S residence on February 20, 2018.  During the execution of the search warrant, special agents with the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation seized electronic items including one cellular telephone and one Amazon Kindle Fire tablet that contained images and videos depicting the sexual victimization of children.  A forensic examination of the devices revealed that MELANCON used them to search for, download, and save images and videos of child pornography.  Some of the child victims depicted in the materials possessed by MELANCON were less than three (3) months old. Agents determined that MELANCON also sought and traded images and videos depicting the sexual victimization of children via a cell phone application.  The forensic examination located not fewer than 1,000 images and 200 videos depicting the sexual victimization of children on MELANCON’S digital devices.

MELANCON faces a mandatory minimum of five years imprisonment and a maximum term of imprisonment of twenty (20) years, followed by up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.  He can also be required to register as a sex offender.  Sentencing before Judge Barbier has been scheduled for November 15, 2018.

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.

U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter.  Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg is in charge of prosecution.