Orange Man Who Operated Child Erotica Website Sentenced to More Than Five Years in Federal Prison

Nora R. Dannehy, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ERIC GAYNOR, 46, of Currier Drive, Orange, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Christopher F. Droney in Hartford to 66 months of imprisonment, followed by 10 years of supervised release. On December 30, 2008, GAYNOR pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography.

According to documents filed with the Court and statements made in court, GAYNOR owned and operated the child erotica website coyoteee.com. GAYNOR also received child pornography through the Internet. Analysis of GAYNOR’s computer, which was seized after the execution of a court-authorized search warrant of GAYNOR’s residence, revealed that, in June 2003, GAYNOR downloaded a video named “Sexyboys,” which depicted two males under the age of 18 engaging in explicit sexual activity. GAYNOR also attempted to sell “Sexyboys” to a customer of coyoteee.com.

Upon his release from prison, GAYNOR will be required to register as a sex offender. As a special condition of his 10-year period of supervised release, the United States Probation Office is authorized to monitor GAYNOR’s computer use and conduct searches of his residence without a warrant. Also, GAYNOR may not have any unsupervised contact with children, other than his own, under the age of 18.

Acting U.S. Attorney Dannehy noted that this prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation.

This case was investigated by the Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force, specifically the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Postal Inspection Service. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward Chang.

The Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force was formed in February 2003 to investigate crimes occurring over the Internet. These crimes include computer intrusion, Internet fraud, copyright violations, Internet threats and harassment and on-line crimes against children. The Task Force also provides computer forensic review services for participating agencies. The Task Force is housed in the main FBI office in New Haven, Connecticut. For more information about the Task Force, please contact the FBI at 203-777-6311.

To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.