A woman from Gonzales, Louisiana, has been sentenced to more than ten years in federal prison for her role in receiving child sexual abuse material. U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson handed down a 125-month sentence to Hannah Kinchen, 41, following her conviction for receiving explicit images of a minor that were produced by a photographer she had arranged.
After completing her prison term, Kinchen will serve five years of supervised release. She is also required to complete sex offender treatment and register as a sex offender upon release.
Court documents and statements made during Kinchen’s guilty plea revealed that between at least July 2020 and February 2021, she communicated online with a photographer who identified as a pedophile. Their conversations included discussions about the minor victim’s modeling activities.
Kinchen organized and transported the minor to photoshoots with the photographer in Louisiana and other locations. She was present during these sessions, allowed the photographer to take pictures of the child in revealing clothing such as thongs and G-string bikinis, and assisted with posing the minor. Some of these images met the legal definition of child pornography and some were later sold.
On August 1, 2020, Kinchen received most of these images through an internet file-sharing service and downloaded them onto her computer.
U.S. Attorney Kurt L. Wall commented on the sentencing: “This administration will continue to make the safety of our children a top priority. Thanks to the FBI and Assistant United States Attorney Kristen Craig for their hard work in this case.”
Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Tapp of the FBI’s New Orleans Field Office added: “The defendant in this case preyed on an innocent child. The FBI and our partners will do everything in our power to remove child predators from our great nation.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation led the investigation into this matter, which was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kristen Lundin Craig.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative started by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at fighting child sexual exploitation using resources across federal, state, and local agencies. The project works to identify offenders who exploit children via the Internet as well as rescue victims; more information can be found at Justice.gov/PSC.
