A Mississippi Gulf Coast man will spend time behind bars for owning child pornography.
40-year-old Benjamin Lee Poiroux pled guilty in federal court to possession of thousands of visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
According to court documents, Poiroux was encountered by FBI agents at the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport and gave consent for his electronic devices to be forensically searched. The search of his iPad, laptop, and cellphone revealed he possessed over 1,300 visual images and 75 videos of visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, also known as child sexual abuse materials.
Poiroux is scheduled to be sentenced on May 30 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the case with assistance from the Cyber Crime Division at the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Jones is prosecuting the case.