North Carolina man pleads guilty to possession of child pornography

LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a North Carolina man pleaded guilty Thursday to possessing a sexually explicit image of a Lafayette minor.

Eric Teague, 47, of Granite Falls, N.C., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi to one count of possession of child pornography. According to the guilty plea, Teague contacted a minor in the Lafayette area through a social media site online. The defendant received a sexually explicit image from the minor in January of 2015 and was later found in possession of the image.

Teague faces up to 10 years in prison, five years to life of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. He is also required to register as a sex offender. A sentencing date of September 21, 2016 was set.

Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamilla A. Bynog 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, 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) encourages 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.