Former Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office Deputy Sentenced to 234 Months for Receipt of Child Pornography

United States Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. announced that U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles sentenced Todd Eric Tripp, age 35, of Sorrento, Louisiana, to 234 months in federal prison following his conviction for receipt of child pornography.  Tripp must serve five years of supervised release upon completing his term of imprisonment, and he must complete sex offender treatment.  The Court also ordered Tripp to pay $9,000 in restitution and ordered him to register as a sex offender upon his release.

Tripp, a former Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office Deputy, used a multimedia instant messaging application to obtain child pornography from multiple victims.  From March 2020 and continuing until October 2020, Tripp received at least 15 images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  Tripp was previously convicted and sentenced for child sexual exploitation and abuse crimes.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Iberville Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the York County, South Carolina Sheriff’s Office.  This case was prosecuted by Deputy Criminal Chief Edward H. Warner and Criminal Chief Jamie A. Flowers Jr.    

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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and 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 http://www.justice.gov/psc.