Former Soldier Stationed at Fort Polk Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Abusive Sexual Contact with a Minor

ALEXANDRIA, La. - United StatesAttorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Gjamale Demonte Kaver, 37, has been sentenced by United States District Judge David C. Joseph on charges of abusive sexual contact with a minor under the age of 12. Kaver was sentenced to 240 months (20 years) in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release.

A federal grand jury in Lafayette returned an indictment in March 2022 charging Kaver with abusive sexual contact with a minor under the age of 12 and he pleaded guilty to the charge on August 18, 2022. According to evidence presented to the court, Kaver was enlisted in the United States Army and stationed at the Fort Polk Military Reservation. While stationed there in 2007, and continuing upon his return to Fort Polk in 2009, Kaver engaged in abusive sexual misconduct with the minor victim who was under the age of 12.

"The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Louisiana has jurisdiction over federal crimes that occur at Fort Polk Military Reservation," said U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown. "Abusive sexual conduct with children is an intolerable crime and we will continue to prosecute those who commit these crimes to the fullest extent that the law will allow."

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel J. McCoy and J. Luke Walker.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood combines 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.

# # #