Philadelphia Man Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison for Child Sexual Exploitation

PHILADELPHIA - United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Eric Mooney, 42, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to 40 years in prison, 10 years of supervised release, $9,000 in restitution, and $1,200 in assessments by United States District Judge Gerald J. Pappert for child sexual exploitation offenses.

Mooney was charged by indictment in February 2024 with one count each of production and attempted production of child pornography, receipt of child pornography, and possession of child pornography. He pleaded guilty to all charges against him in February of this year.

As detailed in the court filings, the defendant met the 14-year-old victim online in February 2023 and communicated with her over a messaging app for approximately two weeks, during which he coerced her into engaging in sexually explicit conduct at his direction during live video feeds.

Within weeks of meeting the child, Mooney traveled to Kentucky, convinced her to leave her home in the middle of the night, and brought her back to his home in Philadelphia where he engaged in sexual intercourse. Police later found sexually explicit images and video of this child on the defendant's electronic devices, as well a copy of the flyer that had been posted when the child disappeared from her home in Kentucky.

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 United States Attorneys' 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 projectsafechildhood.gov

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Priya De Souza.

Note: the posting of this press release was delayed, due to the federal government shutdown from October 1, 2025, to November 12, 2025.