NEW ORLEANS MAN SENTENCED TO 30 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR RECEIPT OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
RUSSELL DAVID MANSEL, 58, of New Orleans, Louisiana, was sentenced yesterday in federal court before U. S. District Judge Martin L. C. Feldman to thirty (30) years (360 months) in prison followed by a life-term of supervised release for receipt of child pornography, announced U. S. Attorney Jim Letten.
MANSEL previously pled guilty on June 3, 2010. According to the court documents, on November 4, 2009, Special Agents of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security executed a federal search warrant at MANSEL’s Republic Street residence. At that time, MANSEL confessed to knowingly using his computer to search for, download, and save images of child pornography. MANSEL was found to be in possession of approximately 130 images depicting the sexual victimization of children.
Court documents also show that in February 14, 1989, MANSEL was previously convicted of five counts of Aggravated Sexual Battery of a child and one count of Aggravated Rape of a child, and therefore, faced an enhanced sentence. MANSEL’s sentence was an upward departure from the U. S. Sentencing Guidelines.
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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals 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.
This case is being investigated by the U. S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations. The prosecution of this case was handled by Project Safe Childhood Coordinator, Assistant U. S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba.
