Sentencing was deferred until August.
Frederick, Md (KM). Sentencing is expected to take place in August for a Frederick man in a child pornography case. In Circuit Court on Tuesday, Eric Ritchie, 29, pleaded guilty to four counts of possession of child pornography, which are misdemeanors.
State’s Attorney Charlie Smith says Ritchie was arrested last year after a police investigation determined he was file sharing child pornography. :”They made connection with him through the internet with IP addresses. They were able to actually successfully connect to his IP address, so we know specifically it was his computer. It was reported he was in possession of 13 files of suspected child pornography,” says Smith.
The Internet Protocol address was for an apartment unit in the 7100 block of Canterbury Court just outside of Frederick city.
Ritchie was arrested in October, 2018 following an investigation which began earlier that year.
During sentencing, Smith says prosecutors will be asking for 20 years incarceration for Ritchie, with all but 18-months suspended. “Now, that seems like a harsh sentence for simple possession of child pornography. But people need to understand is that it’s guys like this, who drive the business of creating it. And that’s what leads to the abuse of these children on film in video, just so guys like this can go out and download it off the internet,” says Smith.
He says the State will ask at sentencing for five-years of common supervision where RItchie’s use of the internet will be monitored. As part of his plea agreement, Smith says Ritchie will be required to register as a sex offender for 15 years.
Sentencing is scheduled for Tuesday, August 6th at 9:00 AM.
By Kevin McManus