A man once named Louisiana State Trooper of the Year in 2018 has been sentenced to 17.5 years in federal prison for distribution of over 300 images of child pornography, according to a release from the Department of Justice.
U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that Jason Boyet, 42, a resident of Ponchatoula, and a former trooper with the Louisiana State Police, was sentenced Wednesday.
Boyet previously pleaded guilty with distribution of images depicting the sexual exploitation of children, including children as young as three-years-old.
As part of his sentence, Boyet will be obligated to serve a period of 5 years of supervised release after his term of imprisonment, register as a sex offender, and pay a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.
According to court documents, inFebruary 2020, a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation operating as an undercover agent accessed a chat room within an instant messaging mobile application, known to be a haven for purveyors of digital files depicting the sexual victimization of children, when the agent was introduced to an individual, subsequently determined to be Boyet.
Boyet distributed to him sexually suggestive and sexually explicit photographs of minors, including a young child, over whom Boyet claimed to have custody and control of.
On February 12, special agents with the FBI executed a federal search warrant at Boyet's residence.
Based on a voluntarily interview with Boyet and a review of digital evidence seized during the execution of the search warrant, law enforcement authorities confirmed that Boyet took sexually explicit images of a child at his residence using his smart phone on at least three dates between December 19, 2019, and February 11, 2020, some of which he distributed to third parties.
Agents also confirmed that Boyet accessed a link to an online file storage account containing numerous videos depicting the sexual victimization of children and, further, received at least 151 images and 195 videos depicting children as young as approximately one (1) year old engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
A restitution hearing for Boyet is scheduled for Wednesday, February 2, 2022.
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