Gonzales Man Sentenced To 15 Years For Receiving Child Pornography

BATON ROUGE, LA - United States Attorney Walt Green announced today that Judge Shelly D. Dick sentenced JASON LOUIS OWENS, age 34, of Gonzales, Louisiana, to 15 years in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release.  The Court also ordered OWENS to pay $2,000 in restitution to one of his victims.

Following an online undercover investigation, on November 28, 2012, investigators from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) and the Cyber Crime Unit of the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office executed a search warrant at the defendant’s residence.  Through forensic analysis, agents recovered hundreds of child pornography videos on the defendant’s computer and external hard drive.  The defendant had obtained these child pornography videos through peer-to-peer file sharing services on the Internet.

This was the second time the defendant has been convicted on child pornography charges in federal court.  In 2004, he was convicted for receiving child pornography and sentenced to 24 months in prison.   

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative 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 those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  Click on the “Resources” tab for information about Internet safety.

U.S. Attorney Walt Green stated: “My office, together with our federal, state, and local partners, will continue to aggressively prosecute those who actively seek out images of sexually exploited children.  Such conduct encourages and supports a level of depravity that must be eradicated in any civil society.  We will continue to work closely with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to protect the exploited children as part of this important national initiative.”

This matter was handled by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Louisiana, the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office – Cyber Crime Unit, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Homeland Security Investigations.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Cam T. Le.