LAKE CHARLES, La. - Two men convicted of receipt of child pornography appeared in federal court today for sentencing, announced United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown. United States District Judge James D. Cain, Jr. sentenced Terrence Landry and Steven M. Stinnett as follows:
Terrence Landry, 34, of Lake Charles, Louisiana, was sentenced to 210 months (17 years, 6 months) in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release. In May 2020, agents with the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation received a complaint from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding the possible distribution of child pornography originating in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Further investigation by agents revealed that the subscriber of the IP address associated with the images of child pornography was Landry. Agents obtained a search warrant and subsequently searched the residence of Landry. Numerous computers and electronic equipment belonging to Landry were seized and analyzed by law enforcement. Agents determined that those electronic devices contained over 5,000 still images and more than 400 videos containing child pornography, some of which depicted prepubescent children engaged in sexual activity with adults. Landry admitted to receiving specific images via the internet in May 2016, knowing that they contained child pornography. Landry pleaded guilty to the charge of receipt of child pornography on April 13, 2022.
The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security Investigations and Louisiana Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig R. Bordelon.
Steven M. Stinnett, 51, of Lake Charles, Louisiana, a former associate professor at McNeese State University, was sentenced to 151 months (12 years, 7 months) in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release. On Nov. 17, 2022, law enforcement officers in Calcasieu Parish executed a search warrant at the residence of Stinnett. Officers seized computers and electronic equipment during the search. Agents with the Department of Homeland Security Investigations conducted a forensic review of Stinnett’s computer and found numerous images and videos containing child sexual abuse material. Stinnett admitted that one of the child pornography images was received via the internet in April 2017 and depicted a prepubescent female in a sexually explicit manner. Stinnett admitted to having 228 still images and 57 videos containing child sexual abuse material in his possession. Stinnett pleaded guilty to a charge of receipt of child pornography on Feb. 3, 2023.
The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security Investigations and McNeese State University Police and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig R. Bordelon.
These cases are 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.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys