Laotian man arrested at Los Angeles-area monastery on state child pornography charges

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – A Laotian man in the United States on a religious worker visa is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in state court on charges of possessing and distributing child pornography, following a probe by the Riverside County Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) Task Force, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Kounzong Saebphang, 26, of Laos, is charged with two felony criminal counts. He was arrested June 1 at the Wat Lao Buddhist Monastery in Riverside where he resided as a monk. The arrest came following the execution of a federal search warrant at that location.

The probe began last year when investigators on the SAFE Task Force received information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about the possible distribution of child pornography. The SAFE investigators sought assistance from HSI after determining there could be international implications.

Based on the evidence in the case, Saebphang allegedly possessed child pornography on at least one digital device found at his residence at the monastery and he is charged with distributing child pornography to another person through a social media website. The investigation, including forensic examinations of the items seized during the execution of the search warrant, is ongoing.

Saebphang remains in custody on $10,000 bond. If convicted of the current charges, he faces a maximum sentence of nearly four years in state prison.

The case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Teresa Beecham. The SAFE Task Force, housed at the District Attorney’s Office, is a collaborative effort of the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, the Riverside County Probation Department, HSI, and the FBI.