Tag Archives: Prison

A dual national of the United States and Ireland was sentenced today to 324 months, or 27 years, in federal prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for conspiracy to advertise child pornography.

Eric Eoin Marques, 36, of Dublin, Ireland, pleaded guilty on Feb. 6, 2020 to conspiracy to advertise child pornography. According to court documents, between July 24, 2008 and July 29, 2013, Marques operated a free anonymous hosting service located on the dark web, an area of the internet that is only accessible by means of special software, allowing users and website operators to remain anonymous or untraceable. The hosting service hosted websites that allowed users to view and share images documenting the sexual abuse of children, including the abuse of prepubescent minors and…

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang today sentenced Eric Eoin Marques, age 36, of Dublin, Ireland, to 27 years in federal prison, followed lifetime supervised release, for conspiracy to advertise child pornography on the dark web.  Marques, a dual national citizen of the United States and Ireland, pleaded guilty to that charge on February 6, 2020, after he was extradited by Irish authorities.  Marques arrived in the United States on March 23, 2019, to face federal criminal charges filed in Maryland on August 8, 2013. 

According to his plea agreement, between July 24, 2008 and July 29, 2013, Marques conspired to advertise child pornography by operating a free, anonymous web hosting service (AHS) located on the “dark web”, an area of the Internet that…

Described by U.S. authorities as the most prolific distributor of child pornography in the world when he was arrested in Ireland, Eric Eoin Marques was sentenced to 27 years in prison on Wednesday.

The convicted sex offender built and operated servers on the so-called dark web where anonymous users view see millions of illegal videos and images depicting the rape and torture of infants and toddlers, according to authorities.

The volume of content was so great that law enforcement said they had never seen so many before discovering Marques’ servers, prosecutors said. U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang told Marques in court that his activities equaled that of a drug kingpin.

“This crime was truly despicable,” Chuang said.

For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below: