Guilty Verdict Rendered Against Brownsburg Man on Child Pornography Charges
Latest Prosecution by U.S. Attorney’s Project Safe Childhood Effort
| U.S. Attorney’s Office February 24, 2012 |
INDIANAPOLIS—Christopher Justin Eads, age 27, of Brownsburg, was found guilty today after a four-day jury trial on charges of possessing and distributing child pornography, as well as tampering with a witness, announced United States Attorney Joseph H. Hogsett.
“The testimony adduced at trial concerning Mr. Eads’ behavior and conduct is inexcusable and sickening,” Hogsett said. “Thanks to our nationally recognized child exploitation prosecution team and the investigative work of our local law enforcement partners, Mr. Eads will be held accountable for his crimes at a sentencing hearing scheduled for June 4, 2012.”
An investigation into the defendant was launched in October 2011 after detectives with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department were able to identify an individual online that possessed and was distributing images of child pornography. A subsequent investigation led law enforcement to Eads’s residence in Brownsburg.
In the course of executing a search warrant at the Eads’ residence in November 2011, officers seized a laptop that was found to contain more than 300 images and videos depicting children engaged in sexually explicit acts. It was later discovered that Eads attempted to persuade a witness in the investigation to change key details of a statement that the witness had given to law enforcement as to Eads’ criminal activity.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gayle L. Helart and Zachary Myers, who prosecuted the case for the government, Eads is also still facing separate charges related to his alleged possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and alleged impersonation of a federal law enforcement officer.
This case was the result of an investigation by the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, with significant contributions from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department–Cyber Crimes Unit, the Brownsburg Police Department, the Indiana State Police, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
This case was 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 on Project Safe Childhood, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.