GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Eric Matthew Will of Muskegon made the mistake of sending child pornography to an undercover police officer. Now he’s going to federal prison for 30 years, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Grand Rapids.
It issued a news release saying U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney also imposed a 20-year term of supervised release that begins when Will eventually gets released from prison.
Will, 35, pled guilty on January 2, 2018. The feds say he created pornographic images and videos of a 14-year-old and then sent them out over the internet. Days after he sent one to an undercover cop, Will was arrested.
Prosecutors argued in favor of a stiff sentence, pointing out that Will “had sexually abused and exploited the victim for years. In addition, Will had tried to sell his collection of child pornography to the undercover officer for $1,000.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office/U.S. Department of Justice says the case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a national initiative aimed at protecting kids from online exploiters and abusers. Among the agencies in the crackdown are the U.S. Attorney’s Office, county prosecutor’s offices, the Internet Crimes Against Children task force, plus other federal, state and local law enforcement.
