KC Man Pleads Guilty to Child Porn

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man whose computer had been seized in a separate and unrelated state investigation, pleaded guilty in federal court today to obtaining another computer and attempting to distribute child pornography over the Internet.

Justin K. Eaton, 32, of Kansas City-North, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to the charge contained in a Dec. 16, 2014, federal indictment. Eaton was taken into federal custody at the conclusion of today’s court hearing.

On Oct. 8, 2012, an FBI agent identified Eaton’s computer as sharing images of child pornography over a peer-to-peer file-sharing network. The agent downloaded three video files and five images of child pornography from Eaton’s computer.

            Approximately six months earlier, in February 2012, Eaton had been charged in Clay County, Mo., in an unrelated child pornography case. Eaton’s computer was seized during the state investigation. Eaton bought a new computer shortly thereafter and continued to download child pornography, which resulted in the federal investigation and grand jury indictment.

Eaton was arrested on the state charges on Oct. 12, 2012, and was released on bond. On Oct. 26, 2012, the FBI executed a search warrant at Eaton’s residence and seized electronic media that contained more than 150 images of child pornography. Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Eaton must forfeit to the government a laptop computer, a computer hard drive and a micro SD card, all of which were used to commit the offense.

Eaton pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing child pornography in the Clay County case on Aug. 17, 2013, and was sentenced to eight years. Eaton spent 120 days in the Sexual Offender Assessment Unit in the Missouri Department of Corrections and was released to probation.

Under federal statutes, Eaton 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, plus a fine up to $250,000. 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 Catherine A. Connelly. It was investigated by the FBI.

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."