CHARLES F. HALL (“HALL”), age 61, of New Orleans, Louisiana, was sentenced yesterday for Possession of Child Pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a), announced United States Attorney Peter G. Strasser.

The case against HALL began on April 12, 2018, when HALL entered the Social Security Administration’s (“SSA”) offices located on the fifth floor of 400 Poydras Street, in New Orleans, Louisiana. The SSA offices are leased by the General Services Administration (“GSA”) and are within the jurisdiction of the Federal Protective Service (“FPS”), a department of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.  The SSA office employs an administrative security screening process for all visitors whereby Paragon Systems Incorporated Protective Security Officers (“PSO”) conduct a search for weapons and explosives.  As part of this screening process, HALL was instructed to take all metal items out of his pockets prior to passing through the magnetometer.  When HALL produced a cellular phone from his pocket, the PSOs asked HALL to silence his cellular phone while he was in the office.  When HALL accessed his cellular phone to silence it, the screen lit up and displayed an image depicting the sexual victimization of a prepubescent child.  HALL was taken into custody by officers with the FPS, Louisiana Bureau of Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations. A subsequent computer forensic search of HALL’s phone revealed he was in possession of 195 images and two videos of child pornography.

HALL was sentenced to 50 months by United States District Judge Sarah S. Vance. HALL was also sentenced to a period of seven (7) years of supervised release after his term of imprisonment. Judge Vance also ordered HALL to register as a sex offender pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Notification Act.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”           

U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser praised the work of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Protective Service, Paragon Systems Incorporated Protective Security Officers, and the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter.  The prosecution of this case is being handled by Project Safe Childhood Coordinator and Financial Crimes Unit Supervisor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba.