Blake Joseph Steiner, a former contractor for the Baton Rouge City Parish, has pleaded guilty to charges of distributing child pornography. The plea was entered before U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson. Steiner, aged 37 and residing in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and potentially a lifetime of supervised release with sex offender registration requirements.
Steiner's admission during the plea revealed that he engaged in conversation on a mobile application group chat with an undercover agent (UCA). He sought access to what he believed was a group dedicated to sharing child pornography. In response to the UCA's request for proof of identity through a live video stating the date, Steiner complied by sending a video saying "Today is March 4th." To further gain access to the suspected group, he sent a video depicting the sexual assault of a child under 12 by an adult male.
The investigation into this matter was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations and the Louisiana State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Jene C. Clayton is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. The project coordinates federal, state, and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals exploiting children online while also identifying and rescuing victims.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.