News Releases

Louisiana man pleads guilty to child pornography charges

NEW ORLEANS-A Houma, La., man pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to possession of child pornography charges following a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigation.

Leonard Delaune, 35, pleaded guilty before U. S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. Upon his release from custody, he will be placed on supervised release up to a term of life, be required to give a DNA sample, and will have to register as a sex offender.

According to court documents, on April 3, 2008, ICE agents recovered computer equipment from Delaune's residence and found approximately 700 images and 60 videos depicting the sexual victimization of children.

Delaune admitted to federal agents that he knowing downloaded images of child pornography to his computer.

Sentencing in this case is scheduled for March 2, 2010.

This case was part of Operation Predator, which is a nationwide ICE initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers. Since Operation Predator was launched in July 2003, ICE agents have arrested almost 12,000 individuals.

ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.