Justin K. Eaton, Child Porn Possession, Missouri 2014

Kansas City, MO – A Kansas City man has been convicted of possessing and distributing child pornography.

Justin K. Eaton, 32, of Kansas City-North, was charged with obtaining a new computer and attempting to distribute child pornography over the Internet, despite previously being charged with and convicted of child pornography in Clay County, MO.

In February 2012, Eaton was charged in Clay County with child pornography. His computer was seized during the investigation, but he bought a new computer and continued to download child pornography, leading to a federal investigation and indictment.

On October 8, 2012, an FBI agent identified Eaton’s computer as sharing images of child pornography over a peer-to-peer file-sharing network. The agent downloaded three video files and five images of child pornography from Eaton’s computer.

Eaton was arrested on the state charges on October 12, 2012, and was released on bond. On October 26, 2012, the FBI executed a search warrant at Eaton’s residence and seized electronic media that contained more than 150 images of child pornography.

Eaton pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing child pornography in the Clay County case on August 17, 2013, and was sentenced to eight years. Eaton spent 120 days in the Sexual Offender Assessment Unit in the Missouri Department of Corrections and was released to probation.

Eaton must forfeit to the government a laptop computer, a computer hard drive, and a micro SD card, all of which were used to commit the offense. Under federal statutes, Eaton is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 20 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine A. Connelly. It was investigated by the FBI as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

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