Bobby Jindal tells pedophiles to stay out of Louisiana

"If you intend to harm a child, if you intend to molest a child,
if you intend to contact a child by the Internet,

you'd better stay out of Louisiana," Jindal said.

BATON ROUGE — State, local and federal law enforcement officers performing a child pornography sting in southern Louisiana have rounded up 17 men and what the head of state police calls "some of the sickest things I've seen."

State police commander Mike Edmonson said at a news conference Friday these are just the first of a series of arrests that troopers intend to make and the sweep will move to other parts of the state.

The 17 men were arrested after a two-day operation in the Alexandria, Lafayette and Lake Charles areas.

Edmonson said he had trouble sleeping after viewing some of the photos that were seized in the raids. One of them involved a 16-month-old girl. Others involved 4- and 5-year-old boys and girls.

"This isn't a picture that you just get off the Internet," he said. "These aren't the kinds of things that just pop up when you accidentally open a porn Web site. They would have had to take it themselves and then shared with other people. There are unfathomable things we're seeing in these pictures."

U.S. Attorney David Dugas, who is reviewing the cases in anticipation of filing federal charges, described it as "the vilest stuff you can imagine."

"We're not talking about 15-to-16-year-olds who look 18," Dugas said. "These are pre-pubescent children who can't consent to what happens to them."

He said in each case he prosecutes, "we're getting the maximum sentence."

Besides pornography possession charges, several of the men face charges of drug possession and endangering children who Edmonson said were "rescued" from some of the homes where they were being abused. Other charges are possible, he said, but for now, "we just wanted to get them off the street."

Kristy Nichols, secretary of the Department of Social Services, said the children who were identified are now safe and four are in the custody of the state.

Gov. Bobby Jindal issued a warning to others who are generating and swapping pornography on the Internet.

"If you intend to harm a child, if you intend to molest a child, if you intend to contact a child by the Internet, you'd better stay out of Louisiana," Jindal said.

The state has some of the toughest anti-pornography laws and sentences in the country, including mandatory chemical castration for someone convicted of a second offense.

Jindal said now that the state has the software that can track anyone who downloads pornography that involves children, "we're stopping these monsters and protecting our children."

Attorney General Buddy Caldwell, whose staff secured the software and trained state police investigators, said "just last month, there were 4,563 downloads of child pornography" in Louisiana. "We're averaging more than 3,000 a month."

"The computer all of a sudden is an enemy" if parents don't patrol their children's use, Caldwell said. "It's like turning your child loose in a shopping center to be kidnapped."

Dugas said people put locks on their doors and windows to keep criminals out but "with the Internet, criminals can get into your house and attack your children."

Children are lured to places by people they "meet" on the Internet, often pretending to be someone their own age, when it's actually a child molester, he said.

"If you're not part of your children's lives, someone else will be," Edmonson said. "You don't get to pick who it is."

Arrested in the Alexandria region roundup were:

Patrick G. Murray, 47, Dry Prong, possession of child pornography

Danny Lester, 24, Pineville, possession of child pornography

Timothy Eric Daigle, 50, Alexandria, possession of child pornography

John A. Coleman, 62, Alexandria, possession of child pornography

Columbus James Moore, 33, Natchitoches, possession of child pornography

David E. Coburn, 34, Pineville, possession of child pornography

Jacob C. Youngblood, 19, Dry Prong, possession of child pornography

Joel S. Allen, 28, Pineville, possession of child pornography

Patrick Murray, 24, Dry Prong, possession of marijuana (second offense), possession of drug paraphernalia and illegal use of a controlled dangerous substance in the presence of a juvenile

Clint Perkins, 33, Forest Hill, possession of marijuana, possession of methamphetamines and possession of drug paraphernalia. (Possession of child pornography charges are pending until imaging of his computer hard drive is complete.)

Arrested in the Lafayette region roundup were:

Robert Clendenin, 25, Crowley, possession of child pornography (14 counts)

Christopher Patterson, 20, Scott, possession of child pornography (10 counts)

Nicholas Chiasson, 17, Breaux Bridge, possession of child pornography (5 counts)

Arrested in the Lake Charles region roundup were:

Robbie Coleman, 42, Sulphur, possession of child pornography

Justin L. Cooper, 21, Sulphur, possession of child pornography

Anthony Williams, 45, Lake Charles, possession of child pornography

Michael W. Brinson, 34, Sulphur, possession of child pornography (The Office of Child Services was contacted about four juveniles, ages 11-17 for assessment and intervention.)

Conviction on charges of pornography involving juveniles carries a sentence of not more than $10,000 and imprisonment at hard labor for not less than two years or more than 10 years, without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence.

Conviction on charges of computer-aided solicitation brings an identical sentence.