A Williamstown man was sentenced today to 180 months in prison for receiving images and videos of child sexual abuse and for producing child pornography using a hidden camera in his bathroom, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced.
According to authorities, Eric Ziegler, 39, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez to an information charging him with one count of receiving child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography. Judge Rodriguez imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Ziegler admitted that from February 2015 through Dec. 3, 2015, he received and possessed multiple images of child sexual abuse over the Internet which he saved to his computer, external hard drives, compact discs and other electronic media located inside his home. Among the content on Ziegler’s devices were images focusing on the genitalia of several girls, which Ziegler admitted producing using a camera hidden in a bathroom at his Williamstown residence.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Rodriguez ordered Ziegler to serve a lifetime of supervised release and pay $215,000 in restitution.