LAPLACE — A Metairie man is facing more than a dozen local charges relating to the distribution of child pornography, authorities said.

St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives obtained a court ordered arrest warrant for Gerard Faucheux for 15 counts of distribution of pornography involving juveniles under the age of 13, according to a release from St. John Sheriff Mike Tregre Monday afternoon.

Faucheux is being held in the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center on other charges related to the investigation, Tregre said, adding Faucheux was booked as a fugitive from St. John the Baptist Parish.

A St. John Sheriff’s Office detective, along with officers of the Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, initiated an investigation Nov. 9 into the distribution of pornography involving juveniles.

While working in an official undercover capacity, the St. John detective downloaded more than 15 videos of child sexual abuse by way of a computer network, Tregre said.

Over the course of the investigation, investigators identified Faucheux, 51, of Metairie as a suspect, Tregre said.