LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) — A previously prosecuted Rayne sex offender will serve 30 years in prison for child pornography charges, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Alexander Van Hook.

Joseph Emery Menard, 44, of Rayne, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks. He will also get 15 years of supervised release after his jail term is served.

Evidence presented at Menard’s guilty plea hearing on May 5, 2020 and the sentencing hearing held today revealed that law enforcement officers received information that Menard was sexually abusing two young prepubescent children.

In order to obtain evidence of that crime, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Menard’s residence. During the search, they seized a computer from his residence. The computer was found to have over 600 images of child pornography, some of which were of prepubescent children. Further investigation revealed that the images were downloaded from the internet and received by Menard on November 6, 11, and 12, 2018, and he knew that the images contained child pornography.

Menard was previously prosecuted in the 15th Judicial District Court for Lafayette Parish, Louisiana. On May 15, 2000, he pled guilty to two counts of molestation of a juvenile, an offense relating to abusive sexual conduct involving a prepubescent minor.