U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that CRAIG QUINTAL, age 41, of River Ridge, pled guilty today to crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children.
According to court records, beginning at an unknown time to on or about July 15, 2015, QUINTAL knowingly accessed child pornography with the intent to view images depicting the sexual victimization of minors. QUINTAL accessed visual depictions of minors under the age of twelve years-old engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
Sentencing by U.S. District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle is scheduled for November 16, 2016. QUINTAL faces a penalty of up to twenty years imprisonment, followed by up to a lifetime 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 Polite praised the work of the U. S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations and the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office, High Tech Crime Unit in investigating this matter. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Project Safe Childhood Coordinator and Fraud Section Chief, Assistant U. S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba.