New Orleans Man Sentenced to 10 Years Imprisonment for Possession of Child Pornography and Failure to Register as a Sex Offender

Acting U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that DWIGHT JOSEPH, JR., age 34, of New Orleans, was sentenced today after previously pleading guilty to a two-count Indictment charging him with possession of images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children under the age of twelve and failure to register as a sex offender.

U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance sentenced JOSEPH to 120 months imprisonment, followed by 5 years of supervised release, and a $200 special assessment. Additionally, JOSEPH was ordered to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. A hearing on restitution is pending.

According to court documents, JOSEPH was convicted in 2005 in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, for dissemination of photo/film of child sex acts, which required him to register as sex offender for at least ten years. Notwithstanding that obligation, JOSEPH temporarily resided in New Orleans beginning in about April 2015, without notifying the appropriate authorities in either Louisiana or Pennsylvania.

Additionally, on about September 9, 2015, law enforcement authorities executed a search warrant at JOSEPH’S residence, during which time they seized numerous electronic items. A forensic examination of the device revealed that JOSEPH used the devices to download and save images and videos of children as young as less than one-year old engaging in sexually explicit conduct, including being raped, forced to perform oral sex on adult men, and being forced to engage in acts of incest. The forensic examination located approximately 725 images and 69 videos depicting prepubescent children engaging in sexually explicit on JOSEPH’S digital devices.

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.

Acting U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation Cyber Crime Unit and the United States Marshals Service, with assistance from the United States Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg was in charge of the prosecution.