Cisco Man Faces up to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Possessing Child Pornography

LUBBOCK, Texas — A 43-year-old Cisco, Texas, man appeared in federal court this week and pleaded guilty, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy M. Koenig, to one count of possession of child pornography, announced Acting U.S. Attorney John R. Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Robert Jarold Eckhart, who remains on bond, faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. According to plea documents filed in his case, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, the parties agree that the appropriate maximum term of imprisonment is 24 months’ imprisonment. A sentencing date was not set.

According to documents filed in the case, Eckhart used his Apple iPod 4 to communicate with other persons over the internet and communicate with several persons about adult pornography and child pornography. Eckhart advised that his interests included younger males, and as a result, he received numerous images of minor males engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Between May 2011 and May 2012 Eckhart knowingly possessed his iPod knowing that it contained numerous images of child pornography.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy is prosecuting.