NEW ORLEANS - A Houma man pleaded guilty to a one-count indictment for possession of images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children under the age of 12.

According to U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite, 31-year-old Michael Chauvin was arrested on Aug. 7, 2015 after police seized several devices, including  a laptop computer, a smart phone, four external hard drives, and two thumb drives containing images and videos of child pornography. Forensic evidence showed that Chauvin used the devices to search for and download pornography featuring children as young as two years old engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

The investigation showed that Chauvin obtained most, if not all, of his pornography from a peer-to-peer file sharing program. Police were able to locate 1,354 images and 779 videos depicting children engaged in sexually explicit activities from Chauvin's devices. 

Chauvin faces a maximum of twenty years in prison, followed by up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. He may also be forced to register as a sex offender.