By Tiffany Flournoy
MINDEN, La. — A Minden man pled guilty Sept. 11 in Webster Parish District Court to felony charges involving possession of child sexual abuse material and indecent behavior with juveniles.
Timothy L. Gonzales, 36, of the 1400 block of Lewisville Road in Minden entered the courtroom wearing a jail jumpsuit, his hands cuffed and feet shackled, escorted by a Webster Parish sheriff’s deputy. He stood before Judge Parker Self and formally admitted guilt to the two charges.
The case began with a tip from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children that led the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation to open an investigation. According to the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office, investigators alleged Gonzales uploaded child sexual abuse material to a social media account and found multiple conversations containing sexual content in which he was communicating with children ages 13 to 15.
Gonzales was arrested in June at his place of employment and booked into Bayou Dorcheat Correctional Center. His bond was set at $450,000. The Minden Police Department assisted LBI with the investigation.
Assistant District Attorney Hugo Holland represented the state Friday, while Gonzales appeared with William Eades of the Webster Parish Public Defender’s Office.
Before accepting the pleas, the court advised Gonzales of his constitutional rights under Boykin v. Alabama. After questioning Gonzales and his attorney, the court determined that the pleas were made freely and voluntarily and that Gonzales understood the rights he was giving up.
Holland summarized the facts of the case for the court. Gonzales then withdrew his previous pleas of not guilty and pleaded guilty to possession of child sexual abuse material and indecent behavior with juveniles.
Gonzales waived all delays in sentencing.
On the child sexual abuse material charge, Judge Self sentenced Gonzales to eight years at hard labor with the Louisiana Department of Corrections, without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. He was given credit for time served.
On the indecent behavior charge, Gonzales received a seven-year hard-labor sentence, suspended, followed by five years of active supervised probation. The sentence was ordered to run consecutively with the eight-year prison sentence.
As conditions of probation, Gonzales must pay a fine and court costs during the first three years. He also must pay a $71 monthly probation fee or perform community service as directed by his probation officer.
Gonzales was served with sex offender notification requirements in open court.
The court advised Gonzales that he has two years to seek post-conviction relief. Because he pleaded guilty, he was also advised that he does not have a right to appeal the convictions in the same manner as a contested trial verdict.
Mugshot of Timothy L. Gonzales courtesy of the Office of the Louisiana Attorney General press release immediately following Gonzales’ arrest in June.