Eastern District of Louisiana | Slidell man guilty of possession of child sexual abuse material

NEW ORLEANS, LA – American attorney Duane A. Evans made this known today on October 2, 2024 CHRISTOPHER MICHAEL SOMMERS (“SOMMERS”), 42 years old, of Slidell, La., found guilty of possession of material involving the sexual exploitation of minors, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2252(a)(4)(B) and (b) (2) . SOMMERS faces a mandatory minimum sentence of not less than ten (10) years in prison and a maximum sentence of not more than twenty (20) years, and/or a fine not to exceed $250,000.00, or the greater of twice the gross profits for the suspect or twice the gross loss to any person resulting from the violation. SOMMERS also faces a term of supervised release of not less than five (5) years and a maximum of life, upon his release from prison. Finally, SOMMERS faces payment of a mandatory special assessment fee of $100. Defendant’s sentence is subject to a sentence enhancement of a mandatory minimum of ten years due to a prior conviction on December 13, 2011 in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana , for receipt of child pornography, in violation of Title 18 , United States Code, Section 2252(a)(2).

According to court documents, the case is against SOMMERS developed from an undercover online investigation by the Apache Junction Police Department in Arizona into individuals who shared child sexual abuse material (“CSAM”). As a result, on April 3, 2024, Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) special agents, along with the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation, executed a federal search warrant in from SOMMERS residence in Slidell. During the execution of the search warrant, SOMMERS was found in possession of a 256 gigabyte Samsung USB stick containing 950 images and videos of sexual abuse of minors.

Sentencing in this case is scheduled for December 18, 2024 before U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood deploys federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children online. rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office would also like to acknowledge the assistance of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations; the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office; Apache Junction Police Department; and the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation, on this case. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba, Chief of the Financial Crimes Unit.