Former Lafayette and Vermilion Parish Educator Sentenced to Federal Prison on Child Pornography Charge

LAFAYETTE, La. - United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced Jacob Conrad De La Paz, 34, has been sentenced for attempted receipt of child pornography. United States District Judge David C. Joseph sentenced De La Paz to 84 months (7 years) in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release.

De La Paz, a former teacher and coach at St. Thomas More Catholic High School in Lafayette and a math teacher at North Vermilion High School in Maurice, was convicted by a jury in Lafayette on May 22, 2024. He was convicted of one count of attempted receipt of child pornography. Evidence at the trial revealed that De La Paz began communicating in January 2023 through social media with a former minor female student from North Vermilion High School who had reached out to him seeking his help as a math tutor. On January 12, 2023, De La Paz sent a video through the Facebook social media platform to the minor female student, who was 17 years old at the time, asking her to send him a video of her pleasuring herself. He then sent a second video to the minor victim of himself masturbating to ejaculation. Further testimony in court revealed that De La Paz instructed the minor victim to delete the video and all of their conversations from Facebook.

"Parents expect educators and tutors of their minor children to simply teach those children and not influence or attempt to manipulate them sexually," said United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown. "Children are a vulnerable segment of our society and when educators engage in this type of conduct with them, the DOJ's mission requires us to prosecute them and that is what the public expects us to do. Today, justice has been served."

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and Vermilion Parish Sheriff's Office and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lauren L. Gardner and J. Luke Walker.

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