Canadian Man Sentenced to More Than Six Years in Federal Prison for Receiving Child Pornography Over the Internet

JACKSONVILLE, FL—United States District Judge Marcia Morales Howard sentenced Christian Yvon Lapierre (47, a Canadian citizen residing in Jacksonville) to 77 months in federal prison for receiving child pornography over the Internet. The court also ordered Lapierre to serve seven years of supervised release following his release from prison and to register as a sex offender.

According to court documents, an investigator with the Florida Attorney General’s Office conducted an undercover operation to identify individuals using the Internet to share child pornography. The investigator was able to identify an Internet protocol (IP) address located in Jacksonville that was sharing files depicting child pornography. Further investigation revealed that the Internet service account for this IP address resolved to Lapierre’s Jacksonville residence.

A federal search warrant was executed at Lapierre’s residence, and law enforcement officers seized two computers and other digital media. Lapierre was inside the residence when the search warrant was executed. During an interview, Lapierre advised that he had two computers: one desktop and one laptop. He admitted that he was the one who downloaded files using the particular software program and that he had some videos showing kids on there, as well as some “teen stuff.” Subsequent forensic analysis revealed that Lapierre’s computer media contained five videos and one image depicting child pornography.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the former Child Predator Cybercrime Unit of the Florida Attorney General’s Office, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “Resources.”