GREENBELT, MD. —
A person described by U.S. authorities because the world’s most prolific purveyor of kid pornography on the time of his arrest in Eire was sentenced on Wednesday to 27 years in federal jail.
Eric Eoin Marques, 36, created and operated laptop servers on the darkish internet that enabled customers to anonymously entry tens of millions of illicit photos and movies, many depicting the rape and torture of infants and toddlers. Regulation enforcement had by no means seen a lot of these photos earlier than discovering them on Marques’ servers, in accordance with prosecutors.
U.S. District Choose Theodore Chuang advised Marques that his crimes had been the equal of these of a drug kingpin.
“This crime was really despicable,” Chuang mentioned.
Previous to studying his sentence, Marques apologized to the victims and requested for mercy from the courtroom.
“I’ve destroyed my repute and my household’s repute. Please give me a second probability,” he advised Chuang.
The choose agreed to advocate that the federal Bureau of Prisons give Marques credit score for eight years he has served in custody each in Eire and the U.S. since his 2013 arrest. The choose additionally ordered him to pay restitution of $87,000 to victims of the kid pornography that he helped distribute.
The unique model of the plea settlement between Marques and prosecutors known as for a jail sentence of 15 to 21 years.
Chuang rejected that deal throughout a listening to in Might, calling it “too flawed” and saying he was inclined to provide Marques an extended sentence than 15 to 21 years.
The revised settlement really useful a jail sentence between 21 and 27 years, however Chuang wasn’t sure by these phrases.
Prosecutors really useful a 27-year sentence adopted by lifetime supervision after his launch, a requirement that Chuang additionally imposed.
Justice Division prosecutor Ralph Paradiso mentioned Marques created an internet neighborhood for sexual predators to anonymously abuse and exploit kids and share the horrific photos that they created.
“All of them obtained collectively they usually sexually exploited kids,” he mentioned. “They reveled in that sexual exploitation.”
Protection attorneys requested a 21-year sentence for Marques, a twin citizen of the U.S. and Eire. Marques can return to Eire after he completes his jail sentence.
“There isn’t a one on this courtroom who shouldn’t be repulsed by what occurred on this case,” mentioned assistant federal public defender Brendan Hurson, considered one of Marques’ legal professionals. “He is not going to do that once more, and he’s remorseful for what he has carried out.”
The unique plea deal would not have given Marques credit score for the time he spent in custody whereas preventing extradition after his 2013 arrest in Dublin. However Chuang criticized that provision. The choose mentioned in Might that he cannot inform the Federal Bureau of Prisons to chorus from counting these years when Marques possible was entitled to get credit score for that point.
Marques pleaded responsible in February 2020 to creating and working a internet hosting service known as “Freedom Internet hosting” on the darknet between 2008 and 2013. The darknet is a part of the web however hosted inside an encrypted community. It’s accessible solely via anonymity-providing instruments.
Investigators discovered what seemed to be greater than 8.5 million photos and movies of kid pornography on the Freedom Internet hosting server, in accordance with a courtroom submitting that accompanied Marques’ responsible plea.
Marques was dwelling in Eire on the time of the offenses. He was extradited to Maryland in March 2019. He pleaded responsible to conspiracy to promote youngster pornography.
In an April courtroom submitting, a prosecutor mentioned a authorities witness was ready to testify that investigators had recognized Marques as the most important purveyor of kid pornography on this planet and that he had made roughly $3.6 million in U.S. forex from his servers.
Marques’ legal professionals say he made cash from his legit web-hosting providers, not Freedom Internet hosting.
Performing U.S. Legal professional Jonathan Lenzner mentioned Marques brought on “unspeakable harm” to kids.
“That is the primary case that I am conscious of the place we went to the seeds of the commerce, the primary engine driving a lot of the unlawful youngster pornography commerce globally,” he mentioned.
Chuang advised Marques that he hopes he reads the written statements submitted by his victims.
“It’s heartbreaking to see what has occurred to those people,” the choose mentioned.
