Former Baton Rouge Pediatrician Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child Pornography

United States Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. announced that Antonio Felipe Belda, age 39, of Ontario, Canada, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles to possession of child pornography.  Belda’s conviction is punishable by a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and up to a lifetime period of supervised release—which includes sex offender registration requirements.  Belda, a Canadian citizen, may also be removed or deported from the United States upon completing his sentence.

According to admissions made during his plea, Belda used internet-based accounts and mobile applications to obtain child pornography, and he possessed the illegal content on various computers and electronic storage devices.  Belda possessed approximately 171 total videos and 3,034 total images of child pornography—some involving the sexual assault of children as young as eight years old.

This matter was investigated by the United States Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation, and the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward H. Warner, who also serves as Deputy Criminal Chief; First Assistant United States Attorney April Leon Johnson; and Trial Attorney Adam William Braskich of the Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (“CEOS”). 

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.