Ponchatoula Man Pleads Guilty to Receipt of Materials Involving the Sexual Exploitation of Minors and for Violation of the Federal Gun Control Act

DANIEL JUSTIN MAHAN, age 42, a resident of Ponchatoula, Louisiana, pleaded guilty yesterday to receipt of materials involving the sexual exploitation of minors and violation of the Federal Gun Control Act, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.

According to previously filed court documents, MAHAN was arrested on March 15, 2018, by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) subsequent to the execution of a search warrant at his home.  MAHAN was found to be in possession twenty-four (24) weapons and over 26,000 rounds of ammunition.  MAHAN has a prior felony conviction for bank robbery which prohibits him from possessing firearms and ammunition.  The FBI’s investigation further revealed that MAHAN was also in possession of a laptop computer which contained images depicting the sexual victimization of prepubescent children. 

MAHAN faces a mandatory minimum five year term of imprisonment and a maximum sentence of twenty years imprisonment to be followed by up to a life term of supervised release, and a $10,000,000.00 fine as to the child exploitation charge.  As to the weapons charge, he additionally faces a maximum sentence of maximum sentence of ten years imprisonment to be followed by a three year term of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.   Mahan will be sentenced on November 29, 2018.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”  

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Tracey N. Knight.