FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Former St. Tammany Parish Police Officer Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison
Following Guilty Plea to Child Pornography Charges
June 27, 2024
District Attorney Collin Sims reports that on June 24, 2024, former St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Corporal Christopher Cassidy entered a guilty plea to all 78 counts of Pornography involving juveniles and 111 counts of Sexual abuse of animals filed against him by the District Attorney’s Office in July of 2022. Judge Tara Zeller sentenced Cassidy on each count to fifteen (15) years in prison without benefit of parole. Judge Zeller ordered the sentences to run concurrent with each other. Following the completion of his prison term, Cassidy will be required to register as a convicted sex offender for the next twenty-five (25) years. Assistant District Attorney Iain Dover was in charge of the prosecution and Special Agent April Lucia with the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation led the investigation.
Cassidy was arrested on February 24, 2022, after an extensive investigation in response to a tip received by the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The tip provided information related to the uploading of child pornography in conjunction with a particular email address. The ensuing investigation revealed the email address belonged to Christopher Cassidy, who at the time was a Corporal with the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office. The email address was used to send and receive numerous pornographic images involving prepubescent children. The same email address was used to send photographs of a nude adult male, later identified to be Cassidy, standing in front of a full-length mirror. Further investigation of various internet accounts belonging to Cassidy uncovered over one-hundred (100) images of humans engaged in sexual activity with animals.
On February 23, 2022, LBI agents obtained a warrant for Cassidy’s arrest. The following day, agents located Cassidy and attempted to interview him. After being informed of the nature of the ongoing investigation, Cassidy declined to submit to an interview. Cassidy was immediately arrested and transported to the St. Tammany Parish Jail. A cellular phone seized from Cassidy during the course of his arrest was submitted for forensic analysis. Analysis of Cassidy’s phone revealed it contained numerous images of prepubescent females being sexually assaulted by adult males or with their genitalia lewdly exhibited.