ALBANY, NEW YORK – Eric William Tompkins, age 38, of Clifton Park, New York, was sentenced today to serve 10 years in prison for possessing child pornography. Tompkins also received a 43-month term of imprisonment for failing to register as a sex offender; that sentence will run concurrent to the term of imprisonment for child pornography possession.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman; United States Marshal David L. McNulty; and Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
As part of his previous guilty pleas, Tompkins acknowledged that, in 2009, he was convicted of a sex offense in Washington State and was required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). Tompkins further acknowledged that, from February 2017 until his arrest by the United States Marshals Service (USMS) in March 2019, he failed to register as a sex offender in New York and failed to update his SORNA registration in Washington. Tompkins also admitted that, at the time of his arrest in March 2019, he possessed child pornography images on his cell phone.
Senior United States District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy further imposed a 15-year term of supervised release, which will start after Tompkins is released from prison. Tompkins will continue to be required to register as a sex offender.
Tompkins’ case was investigated by the USMS along with the FBI and its Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the New York State Police. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Williams as a part of Project Safe Childhood.
Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorney’s offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc