Philip deMahy Sr., a once respected New Iberia ad exec, was sentenced May 2 to spend the next two years (he faced up to 100 years) in a state penitentiary after state and federal investigators found dozens of images depicting children engaged in lewd sexual acts on his personal computer.
Philip deMahy Sr., a once respected New Iberia ad exec, was sentenced May 2 to spend the next two years (he faced up to 100 years) in a state penitentiary after state and federal investigators found dozens of images depicting children engaged in lewd sexual acts on his personal computer.
In November, The IND discovered what appeared to be an attempt by local media and law enforcement to keep deMahy's somewhat high-profile arrest under the radar. A former president of the Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce, he is the brother a judge in the 16th Judicial District and also worked on the re-election campaign for 16th Judicial District Attorney Phil Haney.
Aside from a brief listing in the Daily Iberian's arrest reports, deMahy's booking warranted no headlines, or an announcement from State Police, which typically issues a press release following its child porn busts.
The ad exec, who was originally only charged with one count despite that investigators discovered about 30 images depicting prepubescent children engaged in sexual acts on his computer, would eventually plead guilty on Jan. 25 to 10 counts of possessing child pornography.
His scheduled sentencing was April 4 before 16th Judicial District Judge Charles Porter but was postponed to May. The Attorney General's Office prosecuted the case after District Attorney Phil Haney recused himself.
Although Porter sentenced him to only two years, deMahy faced a sentencing range of up to 10 years in prison for each of the 10 counts he pleaded guilty to - a maximum potential sentence of 100 years - according to the AG's office.