A registered sex offender from Massachusetts has pleaded guilty to traveling in interstate commerce to engage in sexual activity with a minor.
Robert F. Eccleston, 56, of Fairhaven, MA, pleaded guilty in federal court in Providence, R.I., on Thursday to one count of interstate travel to engage in sexual activity with a minor.
The crime occurred on July 12, 2016, when Eccleston traveled from Massachusetts to East Providence, expecting to meet with and engage in illicit sexual activity with a 15-year-old boy he had been communicating with on the Internet.
Eccleston, who was ordered to register as a sex offender following his conviction of raping a teenage boy in Massachusetts in 2006, has been detained in federal custody since his arrest on July 12, 2016.
He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith on December 15, 2017. Interstate travel to engage in sexual activity with a minor is punishable by statutory penalties of up to 60 years in federal prison; a term of supervised release of 5 years; a fine of up to $250,000; and a mandatory special assessment of $5,000.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dulce Donovan.
The Rhode Island Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force is comprised of law enforcement personnel from the Rhode Island State Police, Homeland Security Investigations, United States Postal Inspection Services, and the Warwick, Cranston, East Providence, Newport, Pawtucket, North Kingstown, Portsmouth, and Woonsocket Police Departments.
Key Facts
- State: Rhode Island
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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