LAFAYETTE – On September 25, 2026, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana charged Christopher Peck , 56, of La Center, Kentucky, by criminal complaint with Production of Visual Depictions Involving the Sexual Exploitation of Minors. If convicted, Peck faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and up to 30 years in federal prison.
As alleged in the criminal complaint, foreign authorities notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in September 2026 after reviewing an encrypted online conversation between a suspect the foreign authorities were investigating and an individual with a username the FBI later linked to Peck. The complaint alleges that Peck told the foreign suspect that he was actively abusing a 10-year-old girl and that he was using a spiked drink to facilitate the abuse. Peck then allegedly sent several photos of the minor victim being sexually abused that were taken in a hotel room. Law enforcement identified the minor victim as residing in Louisiana. The complaint further alleges that Peck rented a hotel room in Louisiana that matched the timeframe in which the images were transmitted, April 2026. Peck was arrested in Kentucky on September 29, 2026.
U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller for the Western District of Louisiana made the announcement.
The FBI and the New Zealand Police division of Online Child Exploitation Across New Zealand (OCEANZ) investigated this case. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Cassidy, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Denise Duhon.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. Learn more at https://www.justice.gov/psc/about-project-safe-childhood.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
You may find a copy of this press release (and any updates) on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana at www.justice.gov/usao-wdla.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Western District of Louisiana at www.lawd.uscourts.gov or at https://www.lawd.uscourts.gov/cmecf-pacer. The case number for this matter is 6:26mj240.
CONTACT:
Public Affairs
Cara Alexander: (337) 262-6704
Cara.Alexander@usdoj.gov
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Western District of Louisiana — U.S. Department of Justice press release.