Louisiana Man Convicted in Disturbing Child Exploitation Case

(KPEL News) - A Louisiana man is facing up to 60 years in prison after being convicted by a federal jury on charges of transportation of and possession of child pornography, according to the United States Attorney's Office.

Tip To Child Safety Group Sparks Louisiana Investigation

A tip about an iCloud storage program and its contents sparked the investigation into the man from Abbeville.

Back in 2021, the 43-year-old man was living in Abbeville when the U.S. Attorney's Office was able to present in court in Lafayette, information that he had been downloading images of child sex abuse.

At that time, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a tip about the images being downloaded and stored by a particular IP address.

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The address was traced to David Lee Fail of Abbeville.

As the investigation into Fail progressed, investigators learned Fail had two prior convictions for similar allegations involving children.

According to a press release from Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook's office,

Further investigation revealed that the online storage account was registered in Fail’s name in Abbeville and had recently been disabled. Agents learned that after the account was disabled, Fail left Abbeville and relocated to the Denver, Colorado area.

Investigators from various agencies teamed up to continue the investigation, and they say they found 150 images of very young girls being harmed by adult males on Fail's account.

The Louisiana Bureau of Investigation, part of the Louisiana State Police, and the Department of Homeland Security were the agencies tasked with the investigation.

Federal Law on Child Pornography: What Are the Consequences

With the guilty verdict, Fail is looking at a sentence that could be substantial. He could be sentenced to the maximum for the charges,

Up to 40 years for the transportation of child pornography
Up to 20 years for possession of child pornography

The Law Is Clear

Federal officials want people to be reminded,

These images document victims’ exploitation and abuse, and they suffer revictimization every time the images are viewed.

A federal judge in Lafayette will decide Fail's future when a sentencing hearing is held on December 9 of this year.

It is illegal to do the following when it comes to child pornography:

Possess the material
Distribute the material
Receive the material
Produce the material

How To Report Child Exploitation

A startling fact is that just in the year 2023 alone, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reports that they received 36 million reports of someone possessing, making, or distributing child abuse material.

If you know someone who is doing this, you can report the information to the NCMEC by visiting https://report.cybertip.org or by calling 1-800-843-5678.

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