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Date: 03-05-2018
Case Style:
United States of America v. Vernon Sweeney, Jr.
Eastern District of Louisiana Federal Courthouse - New Orleans, Louisiana
Case Number: 2:17-cr-00214-EEF-MBN
Judge: Eldon E. Fallon
Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana (Orleans Parish)
Plaintiff's Attorney: Brian M. Klebba
Defendant's Attorney: Valerie Welz Jusselin - FPD
Description: New Orleans, LA - Tickfaw Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child Pornography
VERNON SWEENEY, JR. (“SWEENEY”), age 52, of Tickfaw, Louisiana, entered a plea of guilty on March 5, 2018 for possession of child pornography.
On October 12, 2017, law enforcement officers with the Louisiana State Police and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, arrested SWEENEY during the execution of a state search warrant at his Tickfaw home after finding that SWEENEY was in possession of several items, including a laptop computer, thumb drives and cellular phones that contained images depicting the sexual victimization of prepubescent children.
Court records also revealed that SWEENEY was previously convicted in Tangipahoa Parish Criminal District Court for pornography involving juveniles on August 1, 2012. Due to his prior conviction, if convicted, SWEENEY faces a mandatory minimum penalty of ten (10) years imprisonment up to twenty (20) years, followed by up to a life term of supervised release, and a $250,000.00 fine.
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."
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the U. S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations and the Louisiana State Police in investigating this matter.
Outcome: Guilty
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: