Alleged Dark Web Child Pornography Facilitator Extradited To US To Face Federal Charges

GREENBELT, Md. (WJZ) — Irish authorities extradited Eric Eoin Marques, 33, to the United States, to face federal charges that he allegedly conspired to advertise and distribute child pornography on the dark web.

Marques, a dual national citizen of the U.S. and Ireland, arrived in the U.S. on March 23, and had his initial appearance Monday.

Marques was ordered to be detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for Wednesday at 11:30 a.m.

According to the amended criminal complaint filed on August 8, 2013 and unsealed Monday, between July 24, 2008 and July 29, 2013, Marques conspired to advertise and distribute child pornography, and aided and abetted the advertising and distribution of child pornography, by allegedly operating a free, anonymous web hosting service located on the “dark web”.

As of July 12, 2013, one site hosted on the AHS reported there were almost 1.4 million files uploaded and accessible by individuals who visit the hidden service.

During 2012 and 2013, FBI agents and employees using computers in Maryland downloaded more than one million files from that website.

Those files were reviewed in the investigation and showed that nearly all of the files depict children who were engaging in sexually explicit conduct with adults or other children, posed nude and/or in such a manner to expose their genitals, in various states of undress or depict child erotica.

The complaint alleges that during the time of the conspiracy, the IP address associated with the AHS was on a computer server associated with and only used by marques.

If convicted, Marques faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 in prison for conspiracy to advertise child pornography and for aiding and abetting the advertising of child pornography; and a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute child pornography and for aiding and abetting the distribution of child pornography.

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