Arnaudville man sentenced to 90 years in prison for producing child pornography

LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced today that an Arnaudville man was sentenced to 90 years in prison for producing child pornography.

Joseph Martin, 35, of Arnaudville, Louisiana, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote on three counts of production of child pornography.  He was also sentenced to 20 years of supervised release if he is ever released and must register as a sex offender.  According to the June 4, 2018 guilty plea, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at Martin’s property and found electronic storage devices in a shed on the property.  Upon review of the electronic storage devices, agents found numerous videos of child pornography that Martin had made.  Some of the child pornography depicted a child of approximately 4 years old and others depicted a child of approximately 10 months old.  The images dated back to 2015.

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 combines 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.          

Those concerned may leave tips with the FBI at tips.fbi.gov. Tips may be submitted anonymously. The Lafayette FBI office number is (337) 262-2164.

The FBI conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Abendroth prosecuted the case.