HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A man who worked as a victim advocate in the Connecticut state court system pleaded guilty Monday to a federal child pornography charge.
Robert Eccleston, 58, of Canton, pleaded via video conference to one count of distributing child pornography. He faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for April 19.
Eccleston was identified by the FBI in 2020 as someone sharing child porn to groups on the social media site “Kik.” He served as an administrator of one of those groups and required prospective members to send him videos of child sexual abuse for group access, prosecutors said.
He distributed numerous pornographic images and videos of children in these Kik groups, including images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of toddlers and prepubescent children, prosecutors said.
Eccleston was arrested on Dec. 11, 2020, and has been in federal custody since. At the time of the offenses, he was working as a victim services advocate for the Hartford Superior Court, prosecutors said.
The state Office of the Victim Advocate did not immediately return messages left Monday seeking comment.
Prosecutors said the arrest was part of the Justice Department’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which aims to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation.
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