Virginia Man Who Travelled to Erie for Sex with a Minor is Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison

ERIE, Pa. - A former resident of Ashland, Virginia, has been sentenced in federal court to fifteen (15) years in jail and lifetime supervised release on his conviction of violating federal laws relating to the sexual exploitation of children, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence Wednesday on Kerry Eccles, 62.

According to information presented to the court, Eccles traveled to Erie from Virginia for the purpose of engaging in sexual conduct with a minor. While in Erie, Eccles took sexually explicit photos of a ten-year-old victim and sexually assaulted the victim. Eccles then transported the child pornography images of the victim back to Virginia where they were discovered during a search of his residence.

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.justice.gov/psc.

Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

United States Attorney Brady commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Erie County Detectives for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Eccles.