Franklin Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child Porn

LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that a Franklin man pleaded guilty to charges that he downloaded and stored images of child pornography on a hard drive.

Tommie Joseph Beason, 37, of Franklin, La., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard T. Haik to one count of possession of child pornography. According to evidence presented at the guilty plea, law enforcement agents detected Beason downloading child pornography. Law enforcement agents then searched Beason’s residence on June 3, 2014 and found 230 images and 88 videos of hardcore child pornography on an external hard drive. The illegal files found included prepubescent child pornography with very young children and sadistic material.

Beason faces 10 years in prison, five years to life of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.  A sentencing date has not been set.

Homeland Security Investigations and the Louisiana State Police conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney John Luke Walker is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Homeland Security Investigations/Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) encourage the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at (866) DHS-2ICE.  Investigators are available at all hours to answer hotline calls. Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp. Tips may be submitted anonymously.