Baton Rouge Man Sentenced To 80 Months For Possession of Child Pornography

BATON ROUGE, LA – Acting United States Attorney Corey Amundson announced that, BENJAMIN ROSENTHAL, age 36, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was sentenced this week by Chief Judge Brian A. Jackson, U.S. District Court, to 80 months in federal prison as a result of his conviction for possession of child pornography.  Noting the Court’s responsibility to protect children from sexual exploitation, Chief Judge Jackson further sentenced ROSENTHAL to supervised release for the remainder of his life following his term of imprisonment, and to pay restitution to his victims in the amount of $15,000, a $12,500 fine, and a $5,100 special assessment.

            On March 1, 2017, ROSENTHAL pled guilty to one count of possession of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252A(a)(5)(B).  According to the documents filed in this case, after receiving a Cybertip report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, on September 24, 2015, federal, state, and local law enforcement officers executed a search warrant on ROSENTHAL’s residence where they recovered thousands of images and hundreds of videos containing sexually explicit depictions of children, including toddlers.

            Acting United States Attorney Corey R. Amundson stated, “Protecting children from this type of victimization is a top priority of this office.  The use of children as subjects of pornographic materials is harmful to the physiological, emotional, and mental health of the child, and we will remain vigilant in investigating and prosecuting those who would produce, distribute, or possess these disturbing materials.  We appreciate the fine work in this case by our law enforcement partners at the Department of Homeland Security—Homeland Security Investigations, the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office—Cyber Crime Unit, the BRPD, and EBRSO.”

            Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry stated, “As the agency who conducted the investigation and initial prosecution of Mr. Rosenthal, we are pleased with today's sentencing.” Attorney General Landry went on to say, “as always, we appreciate the strong partnership we have with the U.S. Attorney’s Middle District Office and we applaud the attention AUSA Flowers gave this matter, which resulted in a sentence of 80 months in prison and lifetime post-incarceration supervision.  We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners on the local, state, and federal levels to convict criminals and achieve justice for victims.”
           

            This matter was a joint investigation between the United States Attorney’s Office and the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office – Cyber Crime Unit with assistance from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations, the Baton Rouge Police Department, and the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamie A. Flowers, Jr.