Lebanon Man Sentenced to 25 Years for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor

INDIANAPOLIS- Erick Christian, 50, of Lebanon, Indiana, has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of a child. Christian was also ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution to the minor victim. 

According to court documents, on October 19, 2023, law enforcement received information from the Indiana Department of Child Services that a minor female, Minor Victim 1, had been sexually molested by a family member identified as Erick Christian. When interviewed, Minor Victim 1 stated that the sexual abuse, which included frequent oral intercourse, began when she was approximately six years old and lasted until she was approximately eleven years old. Christian took sexually explicit photos of the child during the abuse, while she was showering, and forced her to wear adult lingerie. 

On March 14, 2025, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Christian’s home and found a cell phone containing sexually explicit photos of MV1, as well as at least 320 images depicting minors or computer-generated minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The ages of those minors ranged from toddlers to teenagers.

“Especially horrific are predators who abuse children in a place meant to be a safe-haven—their home. The defendant stripped his victim from the safety and security that she should have been entitled to and turned that home into a house of horrors, where she was subjected to sexual abuse over the course of many years,” said Tom Wheeler, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “The pursuit of those who victimize children is some of the most important work our office does, and Erick Christian will spend decades in prison thanks to the dedication and commitment of our law enforcement partners and our AUSAs.”

“A child’s home should be a place of safety, not a place where she is sexually abused and exploited by someone she should be able to trust. This defendant robbed a young girl of that security, repeatedly victimizing her over the course of years and documenting his abuse,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. O’Malley. “His 25-year prison sentence sends a clear message: those who prey on children will be relentlessly pursued and held accountable. The FBI remains committed to protecting children and bringing those who exploit them to justice.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Indianapolis Division and the Lebanon Police Department investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker. 

U.S. Attorney Wheeler thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys, Carolyn Haney and MaryAnn T. Mindrum, who prosecuted this case.  

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. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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. 

If you are a victim of child sexual exploitation, please contact your local police department. Resources for victims of child exploitation can be found on our website at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdin/project-safe-childhood

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