Michael Van Eekhout, Child Pornography and Extortion, Maine 2012
A Westbrook man has been brought to justice for his heinous crimes against a woman he met online.
Michael Van Eekhout, 51, of Westbrook, Maine, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court to transporting child pornography and transmitting an extortionate threat.
The crimes took place in late 2011 and April 2012, when Van Eekhout, posing online under an assumed name, persuaded a woman to send him nude photographs of herself.
He then told her that he would widely disseminate the photos unless she took explicit photos of herself and sent them to him. When she did so, he posted the photos online.
In June 2014, Van Eekhout, posing as the woman, sent an undercover federal agent a digital photograph of a naked pre-pubescent female.
The next month, he was interviewed during the execution of a search warrant at his Westbrook home and admitted that he had sent the photograph and had pretended to be the woman.
Van Eekhout faces a sentence of between five and 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and supervised release of up to life on the child pornography charge.
He faces a sentence of up to 2 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and supervised release of up to 1 year on the threat charge.
Van Eekhout will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.
The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations.
Contact Craig M. Wolff, Assistant United States Attorney, at (207) 780-3257 for more information.
Key Facts
- State: Maine
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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