BILL OF INFORMATION IN BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA, ON CHARGES OF DISTRIBUTION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

 

BATON ROUGE, LA – United States Attorney David R. Dugas announced PAUL G. RUIZ, age 48, of Denham Springs, Louisiana, was charged today in a Bill of Information with distribution of child pornography.  If convicted, RUIZ faces a minimum sentence of not less than five years imprisonment and not more than twenty years, a $250,000, or both.

The charge resulted from an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the cooperation of the Baton Rouge City Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Richard L. Bourgeois, Jr.

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys 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.

For further information, contact David R. Dugas, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana, or Lyman Thornton, First Assistant U.S. Attorney, at (225) 389-0443. 

NOTE: A Bill of Information is a determination by the U.S. Attorneys Office that there is probable cause to believe that an offense has been committed by the defendant.  The defendant, of course, is presumed innocent until and unless he is proven guilty at trial.