PEORIA, Ill. Darin E. Eldridge, 55, of Pekin, Ill., has been sentenced to 80 months (6 years, 8 months) in prison for receiving and possessing child pornography. U.S. District Judge Michael M. Mihm sentenced Eldridge on June 23. Judge Mihm also ordered that Eldridge remain on supervised release for 10 years following his release from incarceration. Eldridge will be required to register as a sex offender. Eldridge has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since he was arrested on the federal charges on Sept. 22, 2016.
On Feb. 2, 2017, Eldridge pled guilty to three counts of receiving and one count of possession of child pornography. According to court documents, Eldridge was identified after law enforcement learned that a computer in his residence was using a peer-to-peer file sharing program to download and share files containing child pornography. Based on this information the U.S. Secret Service obtained and executed a search warrant for his residence on April 6, 2016. At the conclusion of the search, the Secret Service seized numerous items of computer equipment. A forensic examination of the seized items revealed the presence of images and videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
The charges were the result of an investigation by the U.S. Secret Service, Springfield Electronic Crimes Unit, which includes the Peoria County Sheriffs Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald L. Hanna prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys Offices and the Criminal Divisions 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. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
--DOJ Central District of Illinois
Source: U.S. Secret Service