Lincoln County Man Sentenced to 15 Years on Child Pornography Charge

CHARLESTON, WV—Robert Dale Eady, 43, of Branchland, West Virginia, was sentenced today by United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. to 15 years in prison, to be followed by a lifetime term of supervised release for distributing child pornography. Eady previously pleaded guilty, admitting that in August 2008, he produced several images of child pornography using a digital camera. The images were of a minor under the age of 12 years old engaged in sexually explicit conduct. According to court documents, in November 2008, Eady used his home computer and a peer-to-peer file sharing program to distribute and receive via the Internet images and videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including sexual intercourse. Many of the images and videos Eady distributed, some of which he produced, depicted prepubescent minors. Eady knowingly possessed over 600 child pornographic images and videos on his computer, some of which depicted sadistic or masochistic conduct.

In addition to the child victim used by Eady to produce child pornography, several of the images and videos distributed and possessed by him have been identified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children as depicting known children. The images and videos of these children engaged in sexually explicit conduct were produced in states other than West Virginia.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the West Virginia State Police jointly conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Karen B. Schommer handled the prosecution.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about cases and related activities please visit www.justice.gov/usao/wvs and www.projectsafechildhood.gov.