John G. Bertrand, Possession of Child Pornography, Louisiana 2019

LAFAYETTE, La. – In a shocking turn of events, a Port Barre man has been sentenced to 24 months in prison for possessing child pornography on his computer and external hard drive.

According to court documents, John G. Bertrand, 35, of Port Barre, Louisiana, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dee. D. Drell on one count of possession of child pornography.

Bertrand, a resident of Port Barre, was also sentenced to seven years of supervised release and is required to register as a sex offender. The guilty plea, which was entered on July 25, 2018, revealed that law enforcement agents identified an IP address associated with Bertrand’s residence as downloading child pornography from the internet.

On December 15, 2016, agents searched Bertrand’s home and found a MacBook laptop containing 491 images and 88 video files of child pornography. They also found an external hard drive containing 292 images and 43 video files of child pornography.

Bertrand admitted to agents that he had downloaded and stored the child pornography on these devices.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana praised the efforts of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert C. Abendroth prosecuted the case.

The case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. If you have any information about child predators or suspicious activity, you can report it to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s toll-free hotline at (866) 347-2423.

Operation Predator, a smartphone application, is also available for reporting suspicious activity. You can download the app at www.ice.gov/predator/smartphone-app.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity. Tips or other information can also be submitted online by visiting their website at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp.

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