Press Release
Former Florida Election Commission Attorney Sentenced to 72 Months in Federal Prison for Conspiracy and Distribution of Child Pornography
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Florida
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Eric Matthew Lipman, 60, of Tallahassee, Florida, was sentenced to 72 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute, receive, and possess material constituting child pornography, and distributing material constituting child pornography after pleading guilty on December 13, 2021. The sentence was announced by Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
“Those who seek to view and share child pornography facilitate the abuse of children by those who produce and profit from this illegal content,” stated U.S. Attorney Coody. “With the assistance of our law enforcement partners, we will ensure that those who engage in such heinous conduct will be held accountable for their actions.”
Between February 8, 2021, and February 11, 2021, Lipman, along with others, was a participant in Mega.NZ chat groups that distributed, received, possessed, and discussed child pornography images and videos. Mega.NZ was an Internet cloud storage and file hosting service based in New Zealand. Lipman conspired with the members of the chat groups to distribute, receive, and possess material constituting child pornography, and posted child pornography material within Mega.NZ chat groups for the benefit of other like-minded participants. The pornographic material that Lipman distributed, and that was found on Lipman’s electronic devices, involved prepubescent minors as well as minors under the age of 12.
Lipman’s prison sentence will be followed by 9 years of supervised release. He will also be required to register as a sex offender and will be subject to sex offender conditions.
“This child predator was part of a conspiracy to sexually exploit young children,” said HSI Tampa Special Agent in Charge John Condon. “Because of the investigative work of HSI and our law enforcement partners at the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, he will no longer be able to harm our most vulnerable.”
“LCSO applauds the work of investigators and the collaborative efforts by all entities involved in seeing justice carried out in this case,” said Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil. “We must continue to do our due diligence in protecting our most vulnerable and precious members of our community.”
This case was investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations and the Leon County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Justin M. Keen prosecuted the case.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
Contact
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Northern District of Florida
850-216-3845
USAFLN.Press.Office@usdoj.gov
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Updated April 8, 2022
Topic
Project Safe Childhood
Component