Eric Michael Hartley, Child Pornography Conspiracy, Virginia 2024

A former South Carolina high school teacher has been sentenced to six years in prison for conspiring to distribute child pornography in the Eastern District of Virginia.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Eric Michael Hartley, 37, of Fort Mill, used various internet applications, including Kik and Dropbox, to send and receive child pornography.

According to court documents, Hartley traded child pornography with Jeramy Routh, who pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute child pornography in May. Routh and Hartley discussed trading exploitative images of children, including infants and toddlers, and did in fact exchange images and videos as well as access to cloud-based accounts of child pornography.

Hartley's case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney's Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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 to identify and rescue victims.

Hartley was sentenced to 6 years in prison and 10 years of supervised release. His co-conspirator, Jeramy Routh, was sentenced to 90 months in prison and 10 years of supervised release on September 27, 2022.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Whitney Dougherty Russell.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:19-cr-170. Information on Jeramy Routh's case can be located on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:19-cr-142.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/former-high-school-teacher-sentenced-prison-child-pornography