James S. Burland of Baton Rouge has been sentenced to 57 months in federal prison after being convicted for possession of child pornography, as announced by Acting United States Attorney April M. Leon. Burland, aged 70, will serve five years of supervised release after his imprisonment. He is also required to pay a $5,000 special assessment under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act and register as a sex offender upon release.
During sentencing, U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles emphasized the severity of Burland’s actions, which involved the possession of 565 images depicting child pornography, including those of prepubescent minors and minors under the age of 12.
As per his plea, on November 11, 2022, Burland uploaded a file with an image of child pornography to his cloud storage account. Investigations revealed he possessed at least 173 additional files containing such images from that date until April 9, 2024, found on his cloud storage and personal devices.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Homeland Security Investigations, Louisiana Bureau of Investigation, and the Office of the Attorney General. Assistant United States Attorney Paul L. Pugliese prosecuted the matter.
This case was part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative started in May 2006 to address child sexual exploitation and abuse. It organizes federal, state, and local resources to identify and prosecute offenders exploiting children online, also aiming to rescue victims. More information about Project Safe Childhood is available at http://www.justice.gov/psc.