Convicted Felon Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Receiving Child Pornography

DULUTH, Minn. – A Duluth man has been sentenced to 188 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release and ordered to pay $27,000 in restitution for receipt of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

According to court documents, law enforcement received a CyberTip from Kik that a Duluth resident had uploaded over 20 separate images and videos between February 23 and March 3, 2020 on the Kik app. They investigated and obtained a search warrant for the residence and vehicles of Eric Scott Sherman, 37, and discovered multiple images and videos depicting prepubescent minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. A Motorola cell phone seized during the search confirmed the association between Sherman and the phone number and social media account usernames that started the investigation. 

In his plea agreement, Sherman acknowledged that he was charged with and pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a four-year-old child in St. Louis County in 2011. In 2012, he was sentenced to 90 months in custody and 10 years of conditional release. Sherman was still under supervision when he received and possessed the child pornography in this case.  

On May 16, 2023, Sherman pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography and was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court by Judge Kate M. Menendez.

This case was the result of an investigation led by Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from the FBI, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Duluth Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura M. Provinzino prosecuted the case.