OPELOUSAS MAN SENTENCED IN FEDERAL COURT



FOR CRIMINAL SEXUAL ACTIVITY



Defendant Receives 15 Years in Federal Prison

Lafayette, La.: Kevin Ray, 45, of Opelousas, Louisiana, was sentenced today for attempting to entice a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity and attempted production of child pornography, Acting United States Attorney William J. Flanagan announced. Ray was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison and 10 years of supervised release by United States District Judge Rebecca F. Doherty.

Kevin Ray was convicted by a federal jury in August 2009 following a three-day trial. According to court testimony, Ray, who was employed with the Lafayette Utilities System, began chatting on April 18, 2009, while at work and using his City of Lafayette laptop, in a Yahoo, Louisiana chat room. The defendant was chatting with an undercover Louisiana State Police Officer who identified himself as a 15-year old female from Lafayette, La.

The defendant attempted to engage in graphic sexual chat with the undercover officer and discussed the possibility of meeting with the undercover officer and engaging in sex acts. Ray repeatedly asked to see the person he believed to be a 15-year old female in sexually explicit poses, and also asked her to take sexually explicit pictures of herself and send them to him using the internet.

On April 19, 2009, Ray arranged to meet with the undercover officer at Veteran’s Park in Lafayette, La., so they could go to the child’s residence and engage in sex acts. The defendant arrived at the park at about 1:00 p.m. and was arrested by State Police shortly thereafter.

This case was brought by the Louisiana State Police as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, Project Safe Childhood was created as a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals 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. The United States Attorney thanks the cooperation of the City of Lafayette Consolidated Government for their

cooperation in the investigation of this case. For more information about Project Safe Childhood,

please visit: www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case was investigated by the Louisiana State Police and was prosecuted by Assistant

United States Attorney John Luke Walker.