Louisiana Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child Pornography

U.S. Attorney, Kenneth A. Polite announced that ERIN PITRE, age 36, of Cut Off, pled guilty today to a one-count Bill of Information with possession of images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children under the age of twelve years old.

According to court documents, law enforcement officials executed a search warrant at PITRE’S residence on January 22, 2015, during which time they seized an external digital storage device that contained images and videos of child pornography.  A forensic examination of the device revealed that PITRE used peer-to-peer file sharing programs on his computer to search for, download, and store images and videos of children as young as two years-old engaging in sexually explicit conduct.  The forensic examination located approximately 185 images and 7 videos of children engaging in sexually explicit conduct that PITRE possessed.

PITRE faces a maximum term of imprisonment of not more than twenty years, followed by up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.  PITRE can also be required to register as a sex offender.  U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon set sentencing for December 10, 2015. 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.