Clinton Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Federal Prison for Receipt and Attempted Production of Child Pornography

DAVENPORT, Iowa - A Clinton man was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for receipt of child pornography and attempted production of child pornography.

According to public court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received CyberTips that an account, later determined to be associated with Eric Jensen Salter, 37, received files containing child sexual abuse material. Law enforcement seized electronic devices during a search of Salter's Clinton residence. The investigation showed that Salter's email account was used to seek out, receive, view, and possess child pornography, including content of prepubescent children. The Clinton County Sheriff's Office further received records from Salter's email account that revealed an email exchange with a sixteen-year-old female between May and October 2018. Salter attempted to use, persuade, induce, or entice the minor female to engage in sexually explicit conduct, with the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct, by requesting her to send sexually explicit images of herself to him.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Salter will be required to serve a ten-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Salter was also ordered to pay $8,000 in restitution.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Clinton County Sheriff's Office, Davenport Police Department, and the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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. For information about internet safety education, please visit https://www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the resources tab.