COVINGTON, La. (WGNO) — A Covington man pled guilty and was sentenced on 200 counts of possession of child pornography.
Interim District Attorney J. Collin Sims said multiple cyber tips were submitted in September of 2021 to The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The tips alleged that 40-year-old Benjamin Edward Evers had uploaded images of child pornography to a cloud-based storage service.
According to Sims, a search of Evers’ home in February of 2022 turned up more than 200 images and videos of prepubescent children being raped on his phone.
Evers had reportedly told police during an audio recorded interview that he viewed child pornography because he was “curious.”
On Wednesday, Dec. 6, Evers pled guilty and was sentenced to 10 years in prison by District Judge William H. Burris.
“Prior to the extensive changes in Louisiana’s criminal laws enacted in 2017 commonly referred to as ‘Criminal Justice Reform,’ this sex offender would have been facing a minimum of 26 years in prison on these charges due to his prior convictions for distribution of controlled dangerous substances and felony DWI. This case is but one example of how these ‘reforms’ frequently frustrate the efforts of law enforcement and the district attorney’s office to hold child predators appropriately accountable and reduce the sexual exploitation of children,” said Sims.
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