Louisiana Man Sentenced to Nearly 20 Years for Production of Sexually Explicit Photos of Minor Females and Other Crimes

Louisiana - On November 1, 2022, United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Jody Osmer, 38, of Lafayette, Louisiana, was sentenced by United States District Judge David C. Joseph. Osmer received a sentence of 235 months (19 years, 7 months) in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for production of child pornography.

This investigation began when National Center for Missing and Exploited Children ("NCMEC") law enforcement agents got a cyber tip about the dissemination of child pornography related with Osmer. On April 13, 2021, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at his Lafayette residence and discovered child pornography involving prepubescent youngsters in his possession. Osmer later told investigators that he used social media to interact with minor girls in order to meet them in person and engage in sexual intercourse.

Agents discovered that between October 2014 and January 2017, two minor females connected with Osmer using cell phone applications and transmitted sexually explicit photos of themselves via cell phone at his request. Furthermore, Osmer acknowledged to meeting one of the minor victims and having sex with her. Osmer pleaded guilty to coercing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct, admitting that he did so with the intent of creating a visual image of that behavior.

The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Craig R. Bordelon.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S.-based initiative. A nationwide campaign led by the Department of Justice to tackle the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. United States Project Safe Childhood, a collaboration between Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, combines federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. To learn more about Project Safe Childhood, go to www.projectsafechildhood.gov.