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September 22, 2016New Orleans, LA, United StatesChild Exploitation

Former Louisiana teacher sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for transporting child pornography

NEW ORLEANS – A former Louisiana teacher was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison Wednesday for one count of transporting child pornography. The sentencing follows an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Louisiana Department of Justice and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Don Francis, Jr., 46, of Metairie, previously admitted during his guilty plea in April 2016, that he transported child pornography. According to court documents, Feb. 5, 2014, HSI and state and local investigators executed a search warrant of Francis’ residence and discovered child pornography on a computer maintained and controlled by Francis. HSI computer forensic agents located 5,378 images and 362 videos depicting the sexual victimization of children, some of whom were infants, on Francis’ computer.

“We cannot, and will not, allow people in positions of trust to go unpunished”, said Special Agent in Charge of HSI New Orleans Raymond R. Parmer, Jr. “We expect people with access to our children to have their best interests at heart. We will continue to work diligently with our law enforcement partners to protect our children from predators like this.”

Parmer is the Special Agent in Charge of the New Orleans field office with responsibility for Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee.

In addition to his prison term, U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance ordered Francis to serve a lifetime of supervised release following the completion of his prison sentence. Francis was also ordered to pay $8,000 in restitution to his victims and will also be required to register as a sex offender upon his release.

The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite of the Eastern District of Louisiana. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba.

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 14,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2015, nearly 2,400 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.

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