Repeat Sex Offender Sentenced to Over 19 Years for Attempted Receipt of Obscene Images

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Newport News man with a significant history of sexual offenses involving minors was sentenced today to 235 months in prison for attempted receipt of obscene images depicting the sexual abuse of children, obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, and penalties for a registered sex offender.

Elmer E. Eychaner, III, 46, was convicted at trial by a federal jury on May 18. According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Eychaner previously was convicted in federal court of child pornography crimes in 2008. On June 13, 2016, Eychaner began a period of federal supervision and was prohibited from having a computer, but he requested a computer so that he could look for a better job. The probation office allowed Eychaner to have a computer that was monitored through a third-party company, RemoteCOM.

On November 17, 2016, Eychaner went onto his government-monitored computer and searched for obscene cartoon images depicting the sexual abuse of minors. He utilized voice recognition software, Cortana, to try to evade the computer-monitoring software. After he was finished searching for the obscene images, he deleted his search history. The next day, he called his federal probation officer and confessed. When the probation officer told him she was coming to collect his computer, Eychaner admitted that he had removed the hard drive and thrown it down a storm drain.

In addition to the federal child pornography conviction in 2008, Eychaner also was previously convicted of promoting obscenity to minors in North Dakota in August 1992, and gross sexual imposition in North Dakota in May 1994.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the 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.justice.gov/psc.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lisa R. McKeel and Megan M. Cowles prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:17-cr-76.