A Chattanooga man, Erik R. Szczesh, 28, of Cleveland, Tennessee, has been sentenced to 51 months in federal prison for distributing child pornography.
According to the indictment, Szczesh was involved in a text conversation with an individual who was taking pictures of children as they walked to and from school. The individual had been trading child pornography with Szczesh, and police subsequently searched Szczesh’s phone and found 403 pornographic images of children and seven videos of the same.
The images and videos, which amount to 928 images, were discovered after police seized the phone of the individual who was taking pictures of children. Szczesh immediately confessed when questioned by police.
Szczesh has agreed to pay restitution in an amount of $500.00 per victim, for a total of $3,000.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Assistant United States Attorney James T. Brooks represented the United States in the prosecution.
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.
Szczesh will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for 10 years after his release from prison and will be subject to numerous special conditions of release which restrict his access to children and the internet.
Related Federal Cases
- Anthony Layton Moody, Child Pornography Distribution, Tennessee 2020 · Iowa
- Donnie Taylor, Child Pornography Distribution, Tennessee 2022 · North Carolina
- David Earl Taylor, Producing Child Pornography, Tennessee 2016 · Tennessee
- Wesley Thomas Ryan, Child Pornography Production, Tennessee 2016 · Tennessee
- Tony O. Miller, Accessing Child Pornography, Tennessee 2015 · Tennessee
Key Facts
- State: Tennessee
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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