Louisiana sex offender sentenced for child pornography after HSI investigation

NEW ORLEANS – A Louisiana sex offender was sentenced to seven years in federal prison June 19, 2020, in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana for possession of child pornography. The sentencing follows an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New Orleans along with the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office Cyber Crime Unit and the Vermillion Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Jessie C. Comeaux, 37, of Kaplan, Louisiana, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael J. Juneau, to 87 months in custody. Following his federal prison term, Comeaux will be required to serve eight years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender in any state in which he lives or works. Comeaux pleaded guilty to the child pornography charge on March 12, 2020. Comeaux was previously convicted of a prior child sex offense in Louisiana in 2002 for carnal knowledge of a juvenile.

According to court records, the investigation began when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) reported a cyber tip to the Louisiana Bureau of Investigations (LBI) Cyber Crimes Unit, indicating that an IP address associated with Comeaux’s address used an electronic device to access child pornography. Law enforcement officers with HSI Baton Rouge, LBI, and Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Comeaux’s residence in April 2019. A laptop reviewed during the search revealed images of child pornography. Comeaux admitted to the officers that he was the primary user of the laptop and that he viewed images of child pornography on the internet involving juvenile females.

A subsequent forensic analysis of Comeaux’s laptop revealed 42 images of juvenile children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, some as young as two years of age.

HSI encourages 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/tipline. Tips may be submitted anonymously.