United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana
12/12/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 12/12/2024 11:27
Former Cruise Line Employee Guilty of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material
Press Release
Former Cruise Line Employee Guilty of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Louisiana
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that on December 10, 2024, PANKAJ SINGH BOHRA ("BOHRA"), age 35, a foreign national of the Republic of India, pled guilty on December 10, 2024 to Possession of Materials Involving the Sexual Exploitation of Minors, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2252(a)(4)(B) and (b)(2). BOHRA faces a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000.00, a period of supervised release of up to life, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.00.
According to court documents, BOHRA was previously employed by Carnival Cruise Lines and was arrested in July 2024 after special agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, found BOHRA in possession of child pornography at the Erato Street Cruise Terminal in New Orleans.
Sentencing in this matter is scheduled for March 11, 2025 before United States District Judge Wendy B. Vitter.
These cases were brought 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 United States 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. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The U.S. Attorney's Office would also like to acknowledge the assistance of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba, Chief of the Financial Crimes Unit.
Contact
Shane M. Jones
Public Information Officer
United States Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Louisiana
United States Department of Justice
Updated December 12, 2024
Topic
Project Safe Childhood
Component