Two Area Men Face Federal Child Pornography Charges

St. Louis, MO: Stephen P. Erdmann pled guilty and Eric Hardin was sentenced on charges of  possession of child pornography, United States Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway announced today.

STEPHEN P. ERDMANN, St. Louis, Missouri, pled guilty to one felony count of possession of child pornography.  On November 3, 2007, Erdmann  was in possession of child pornography on his computer.  He now faces a penalty range of five to 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000, when he is sentenced on December 5, 2008.

ERIC HARDIN, Imperial, Missouri, was sentenced to 51 months in prison and supervised release for life on September 16, on two felony counts of possession of child pornography.  In December 2006, Hardin was in possession of images containing child pornography, which he received on the Internet.

These cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Department of Justice launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.

Hanaway commended the work performed on the case by the St. Louis County Police Department, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Postal Inspection Service, the Missouri Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Regional Computer Crimes Education and Enforcement Group and Assistant United States Attorneys Carrie Costantin, who handled these cases for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

 

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