Texas Man Pleads Guilty in Federal Court in Louisiana to Production and Attempted Production of Child Pornography

Louisiana - A Texas man has pleaded guilty in a federal court in Louisiana to the production and attempted production of child pornography.

On Tuesday, March 7, 2023, United States Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. announced that Grant McKay Durtschi, age 51, of Lewisville, Texas, pled guilty in a federal court in Louisiana before U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles to production and attempted production of child pornography. As a result of his conviction, Durtschi faces a significant term of imprisonment, a fine, and a period of supervised release, which includes sex offender registration requirements.

According to confessions made during his plea, Durtschi arranged for a juvenile female resident of the Middle District of Louisiana to visit to a place in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, for a photo shoot on or around July 2020. Durtschi led the juvenile to participate in specific poses that lasciviously showed her genitals for the purposes of photographing her on or about July 20, 2020, at the location in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana.

Durtschi moved the photographs from Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, to his residence in the Eastern District of Texas. Durtschi used the internet to upload some of the photos to a Google Drive account, where he also kept other images of the minor.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations investigated the case, which is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kristen Lundin Craig and Trial Attorney Charles Schmitz of the Department of Justice's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section ("CEOS").

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide campaign launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to tackle the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood, led by US Attorneys' Offices and CEOs, marshals federal, state, and local resources to better detect, capture, and punish persons who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. To learn more about Project Safe Childhood, go to http://www.justice.gov/psc.