Independence Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing Child Porn

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that an Independence, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to distributing child pornography.

Eric A. Jackson, 53, of Independence, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to the charge contained in a Nov. 17, 2015, federal indictment.

By pleading guilty today, Jackson admitted that he sent images of child pornography to a 16-year-old female in Illinois. According to today’s plea agreement, an aunt discovered the images on her niece’s cell phone and made a report to the Schuyler County, Ill., Sheriff’s Department. Among the pornographic images sent by Jackson was a 10-year-old female who was “hog tied.”

The 16-year-old to whom Jackson sent the child pornography images told investigators they had been communicating via social media for approximately a year, and had exchanged nude photos of each other.

Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Jackson’s residence and seized a Samsung tablet and a Samsung cell phone. Examiners found 1,028 photos and 130 videos of child pornography on the devices. Examiners also found evidence that Jackson had sent more than 70 attachments, which included both adult and child pornography.

Under federal statutes, Jackson is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 20 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Luna. It was investigated by the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force and the Schuyler County, Ill., Sheriff’s Department.

Project Safe Childhood

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."