LaPorte Man Sentenced To 60 Years In Prison For Production of Child Pornography and Making a Destructive Device

SOUTH BEND – Eric R. Weiler, 46, of LaPorte, Indiana, was sentenced before U.S. District Court Judge Jon E. DeGuilio after entering a plea of guilty to production of child pornography, possession of child pornography, and making a destructive device, announced U.S. Attorney Kirsch.

Weiler was sentenced to 720 months in prison, 5 years of supervised release and ordered to pay 26,250 in restitution.

“The facts of this case are horrific,” said U.S. Attorney Thomas L. Kirsch.  “Mr. Weiler’s crimes caused great pain to the victim’s family and could have, but for the swift intervention of law enforcement, resulted in severe and permanent injury to other potential victims.  His 60 year sentence reflects the seriousness of his heinous crimes.”  Mr. Kirsch went on to express his sincere thanks to all the law enforcement officials involved in this case.

“This lengthy sentence will deliver some justice to the young victims and their families and ensure this defendant will never harm again,” said Special Agent in Charge Tim Jones of the ATF Chicago Field Division. “We will continue to investigate these serious crimes with our law enforcement partners and appreciate the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their diligence in prosecuting this particular case.”

"Mr. Weiler took advantage of some of the most vulnerable members of our society and his sentence reflects the heinous nature of his crime," said Special Agent in Charge Grant Mendenhall, FBI Indianapolis. "It also is a testament to the strong partnerships the FBI has with our law enforcement partners and should send a strong message that we will identify and pursue charges against those who perpetrate these illegal activities."

According to documents in this case, Weiler drugged several people so that they would be unconscious while he recorded a video of himself performing sex acts on an unconscious child. Weiler relived the abuse by writing about it many times in drawings and notes that were later recovered from his house.  In the summer of 2017, Weiler fixated on another child, who, according to his writings, he intended to kidnap and sexually abuse after killing the child’s guardians.  During that summer, Weiler became suspicious of a person and jerry-rigged that person’s car to explode by re-routing turn signal wires into the gas tank to create a spark.  Weiler had also been going into an abandoned house to watch the child playing outside.  Investigators went into the vacant house and discovered writings on interior walls documenting the writer’s attempts to acquire a girl under the age of twelve, ideally a newborn baby, for sexual contact.  Investigators recovered two incendiary devices, in Weiler’s home, one of which is commonly referred to as an improvised explosive device (IED) and had to later be detonated at the LaPorte County Fair Grounds.  Investigators also recovered multiple electronic devices and electronic storage devices in his home, which contained over 24,000 images and over 80 videos of child pornography, including the videos he had produced of himself with the unconscious drugged child.  Weiler’s electronic devices also contained videos of him threatening to use one of the explosive devices to extort sex from an unidentified woman.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the LaPorte County Prosecutor’s Office, LaPorte Police Department, Michigan City Police Department, and the Porter County Sheriff’s Department and Bomb Squad. The case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John M. Maciejczyk and Molly E. Donnelly.