North Carolina man sentenced to 63 months in prison for possession of child pornography

LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a North Carolina man was sentenced Wednesday to 63 months in prison for possessing a sexually explicit image of a Lafayette minor.

Eric Teague, 48, of Granite Falls, N.C., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi on one count of possession of child pornography. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender. According to the June 23, 2016 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.

Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamilla A. Bynog prosecuted 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. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) also encourage the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at (866) 347-2423.  Investigators are available at all hours to answer hotline calls. Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online by visiting their website at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp or through the Operation Predator smartphone application www.ice.gov/predator/smartphone-app. Tips may be submitted anonymously.