Man faces 304 counts of pornography charges

The District Attorney’s Office has upgraded a Covington man’s single charge of pornography involving juveniles to 304 counts after a forensic investigation revealed a plethora of downloaded pictures on his laptop, St. Tammany News has learned.

John Triplett, 48, 23033 Ray Keen Road, faces between two and 10 years in prison for each count if convicted. No trial date has been set.

Originally arrested and charged with one count by the Attorney General’s High Tech Crime Unit, Triplett was released from the parish jail April 10, a day after his arrest, on a $25,000 bond. On Tuesday, prosecutor Leigh Anne Wall motioned to increase the bond in the wake of the new charges upgraded May 20 by District Attorney Walter Reed.

The motion was denied by Judge William “Rusty” Knight of the 22nd Judicial District Court in Covington, who instead offered several stipulations to his previous bond, including no contact with children and no use of computers.

Triplett remains free on bail.

Pornography involving juveniles, a felony, is defined as photographing, videotaping, filming or otherwise reproducing or possessing visually sexual performances of a child under 17.

It’s doubtful that Triplett produced his own videos or that any of the pictures contained local children, Reed spokesman Rick Wood said.