An 8-month long investigation described as "disturbing" has resulted in the arrest of a Natchitoches man on hundreds of criminal charges, including child pornography, narcotics, theft and identity theft, Sheriff Stuart Wright said Wednesday afternoon in a news release.
The investigation started with the discovery of a duffle bag full of mail from Natchitoches businesses that evolved into the seizure of images child pornography and sex acts involving animals pulled from the dark web.
As a result, 33-year-old Christopher Aaron Stanfield of Natchitoches was booked into the Natchitoches Parish Detention Center. His bonds total $884,000.
Stanfield was targeted with an investigation in May 2020 when the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Deputies contacted the NPSO Criminal Investigations Division about Stanfield's arrest on narcotics, weapon and property offenses. During a search of his vehicle, Rapides deputies discovered a duffle bag full of several pieces of mail belonging to residents and businesses in Natchitoches and Rapides parishes, along with residents in Texas and Arizona.
NPSO detectives learned the mail that came from 30 different household and businesses in Natchitoches Parish. Some of the mail included personal and business checks, credit card numbers, bank statements and other private information commonly used in identity theft schemes.
A month later, Rapides detectives told NPSO they also had a package seized from Stanfield’s vehicle containing eyeglass frames and sunglasses. NPSO had a theft report from late May 2020 from a person reporting a package had been stolen from a mailbox on Highway 1 in Natchitoches Parish.
What now had become a joint investigation evolved into search warrants for forensic images of electronic equipment seized from Stanfield. NPSO got an arrest warrant for Stanfield for 30 counts of mail theft and 11 counts of identity theft. But it took until Oct. 6 to catch up with him at an apartment complex in Natchitoches.
Detectives and Drug Task Force members searched the apartment and seized electronic equipment. That meant another search warrant was needed to review the electronics. And that's where the NPSO High Tech Crime Unit found what appeared to be pornography involving juveniles, Wright said.
Stanfield admitted during a brief interview he had been active on the dark web since January 2020, Wright said.
The Louisiana State Police Bureau of Investigations and Bossier City Marshal NWLA-ICAC Task Force Unit were then looped into the investigation and that aided in the discovery of 513 images and six videos of child porn involving children under the age of 12. Additionally, four images and one video of sexual acts involving animals were seized as evidence.
Stanfield now faces the following:
- 519 counts of pornography involving juveniles
- 1 count of possession of pornography involving juveniles with intent to distribute
- 5 counts of sexual abuse of animals
The case will be presented to the Natchitoches Parish District Attorney’s Office for review and prosecution.
Wright praised the work of all agencies involved in this lengthy investigation that required numerous hours of investigation, obtaining search warrants and gathering information and evidence for prosecution.
"We commend the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office for their outstanding work and networking with us to initiate this investigation in what simply began as a traffic stop. Our work load in this investigation was overwhelming. We thank the Louisiana State Police and Bossier Marshal Office-NWLA-ICAC Task Force for their assistance. We will continue as well as other law enforcement agencies throughout the State of Louisiana and nationally to identify and arrest individuals that exploit the safety of our children," Wright said.