NEW ORLEANS, LA – Attorney General Jeff
Landry’s Cyber Crime Unit (CCU) has arrested two registered sex offenders on
multiple charges of child pornography.
“These horrendous Internet crimes
against children continuously inflict damage, said General Landry. “Every time
one of these videos or images is viewed, the child is re-victimized.”
Jonathan Michael Ruiz, 36 of 4300 North
Prieur Street in New Orleans, was booked on 550 counts of Possession of Sexual
Abuse Images/Videos of Children under the age of 13. He was arrested and booked
into the Orleans Parish Prison following a joint investigation between General
Landry’s CCU, the State of Louisiana Probation and Parole Office, the Orleans
District Attorney's Office, and the New Orleans Police Department.
Randolph Ard, 62 of 69013 Hwy. 1058 in
Kentwood, was booked on 10 counts of Possession of Sexual Abuse Images/Videos
of Children under the age of 13. He was arrested and booked into the Tangipahoa
Parish Jail following a joint investigation between General Landry’s CCU, the
State of Louisiana Probation and Parole Office, and the Tangipahoa Sheriff's
Office. Ard is a registered sex offender who has previously been convicted of
indecent behavior with juveniles and pornography involving juveniles.
“As Attorney General, I am committed to
doing all that I legally can to protect our State’s children from the vile
predators roaming our streets,” added General Landry. “Our office remains
dedicated to working with our law enforcement partners and using every tool
available to bring these despicable criminals to justice.”
Ruiz is currently on probation for
similar crimes, and Probation and Parole has placed a hold on him. Being that
Ruiz is on a second or subsequent conviction for the intentional possession of
pornography involving juveniles, he faces the possibility of being fined not
more than seventy-five thousand dollars and imprisonment at hard labor for not
more than forty years, without the benefit of parole, probation, or suspension
of sentence.
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General Landry’s CCU has investigated
thousands of computer crimes that have victimized children from infants to 16
years of age. To report child exploitation, call the Louisiana Bureau of
Investigation at 800-256-4506.