Donald S. Boyce, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that Eric M. Swancutt, 38, formerly of Belleville, IL, pled guilty to a three-count Superseding Indictment charging him with two counts of Receipt of Child Pornography (Counts 1 and 2) and one count of Possession of Prepubescent Child Pornography (Count 3). On Counts 1 and 2, Swancutt faces a term of imprisonment of not less than five (5) but not more than twenty (20) years, a fine up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of five (5) years to life. On Count 3, Swancutt faces a term of imprisonment of not more than twenty (20) years, a fine up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of five (5) years to life. Swancutt has been detained since his arraignment on June 24, 2016. His sentencing date is January 27, 2017, in East St. Louis, Illinois.
A forensic review of a laptop computer seized from Swancutt’s residence discovered images and/or video files of child pornography, many of which were of prepubescent children. Swancutt provided a voluntary statement in which he admitted accessing and viewing child pornography.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation
and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
The case was investigated by the Belleville Police Department and the FBI’s Springfield Child Exploitation Task Force. The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Angela Scott.