Press Release
Registered Sex Offender Convicted of Three Child Pornography Charges
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Texas
HOUSTON – A 44-year-old Porter man has entered guilty pleas to distribution, receipt and possession of child pornography, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez. Eric Furzland is a sex offender who has been required to register since his conviction for indecency with a child in 1997 in Harris County.
Authorities believed Furzland was uploading and storing child pornography into a virtual storage account. He had been using a variety of online applications to chat with others about child pornography and trade materials. He later posted such materials to a Cloud storage service and made the link to his account available to at least one other person.
Law enforcement executed a search warrant at his residence, at which time they seized computer media and cellular phones. Forensic analysis of the phone, computer media and virtual storage accounts revealed 300 child pornography images and 2000 child pornography videos.
U.S. District Judge Alfred H. Bennett accepted the plea today and has set sentencing for Dec. 20, 2017. At that time, Furzland faces a mandatory minimum of 15 and up to 40 years imprisonment for the distribution and receipt of child pornography as well as another 10-20 years for possession. All charges carry the possibility of an additional $250,000 fine. Furzland also faces a maximum of life on supervised release during which the court can impose a number of special conditions designed to protect children and prohibit the use of the Internet. He will again be required to register as a sex offender for up to the rest of his life.
At a detention hearing held shortly after his arrest in April 2017, Furzland was found to be a flight risk and danger to the community. He has been in custody since that time where he will remain pending that hearing.
The FBI conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri Zack is prosecuting the case, 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."
Updated October 12, 2017
Topic
Project Safe Childhood
Component