Hackett Man Sentenced To 75 Months In Prison For Child Pornography Offense

Fort Smith - Conner Eldridge, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Raymond Freitas, age 42, of Hackett, was sentenced today to 75 months in prison followed by seven years of supervised release for Receipt of Child Pornography. The sentencing took place before the Honorable P. K. Holmes, III in the United States District Court in Fort Smith.

U. S. Attorney Eldridge commented, “We will not rest in our efforts to identify, investigate, and prosecute those who commit these despicable crimes against our children. Every time a video or image involving sexual abuse of children is downloaded or viewed, those children are re-victimized. We appreciate the hard work of law enforcement to bring these sexual predators to justice.”

“Criminals who prey on our children remain a top priority for HSI and our law enforcement partners. This predator will be locked away from society thanks to the collaborative efforts of HSI and our law enforcement partners at the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office and the Hackett Police Department,” said Raymond R. Parmer, Jr. special agent in charge of HSI New Orleans.

According to court records, in May 2014, agents with Homeland Security Investigations identified a computer that was being used to download suspected child pornography via the internet. A subsequent investigation revealed that the subscriber information for that computer returned to Freitas whose residence is in Hackett. Agents obtained and executed a search warrant on the residence where they seized a computer and several DVD’s. Freitas admitted at that time to downloading images and videos of child pornography on several different occasions. A subsequent forensic examination of the confiscated items revealed numerous images and videos of child pornography. On September 29, 2014, Freitas pleaded guilty in Federal Court to receiving child pornography.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Kyra Jenner prosecuted the case for the United States.

The 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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and their Criminal Division Child Exploitation and Obscenity Sections (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.

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Related court documents may be found on Public Access to Electronic Records Website @www.Pacer.gov