Leesville lawyer gets 14 years for enticement of minor

Two Southwest Louisiana men were sentenced Thursday in separate child pornography cases.

U.S. District Judge James D. Cain Jr. sentenced Michael Allen Smith Jr., 33, a lawyer from Leesville, to 14 years in prison followed by 20 years of supervised release for enticement of a minor. Smith pleaded guilty on Feb. 17  to the charge, which was the result of an investigation into a complaint received in January 2020 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The mother of a 15-year-old boy said that while her son was visiting a relative in the Leesville area, he met and engaged in sexual conduct with an adult male. The mother told law enforcement she had seen a video on her son’s phone of he and the adult male engaged in sexual conduct. She took the phone from her son and turned it over to law enforcement for further investigation.

The victim was interviewed, and agents determined he had engaged in these acts with Smith — who recorded them on his phone at his residence in Leesville. The victim admitted he met Smith on the social media platform Grindr and initially told Smith he was 21; however, he later confessed he was a minor and continued the sexual relationship.

In another case, Raymond Fontenot Jr., 39, of Reeves was sentenced to  30 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for production of child  pornography. Fontenot pleaded guilty to the charge on July 6.

According to evidence  presented to the court, officers with the Allen Parish Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant on Fontenot’s residence on Nov. 9, 2021. While searching the residence, law enforcement officers found an Android tablet hidden in Fontenot’s bathroom. Another search warrant was obtained for the tablet and a forensic examination was performed. The examination revealed videos containing child pornography, specifically one from 2020 depicting sexual abuse of a prepubescent girl while she was sleeping.

Fontenot admitted to law enforcement officers he had created the video and had sexually exploited the victim.

 

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