State Court Victim Advocate Arrested On Child Porn Charge: Feds

CANTON, CT — A Canton man who works as a Victim Services Advocate for Hartford Superior Court is accused of distributing child pornography, according to authorities.

Robert Eccleston, 56, was arrested Friday on a federal charge accusing him of distributing child pornography on a social media app, according to the U.S. States Attorney for Connecticut’s office.

Authorities said covert FBI personnel in two different field offices outside of Connecticut have been “monitoring various public groups on the social medial application Kik.”

“In August and September 2020, Eccleston, using the Kik username ‘hartfordctguy,’ distributed numerous pornographic images and videos of children in these Kik groups, including images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of toddlers and prepubescent children,” officials wrote in a news release.

If convicted of the charge of distribution of child pornography, Eccleston faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. He is detained pending a detention hearing that is scheduled for Dec. 14, according to officials.

The matter is being investigated by the FBI, with the assistance of the Avon Police Department.

The prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit here.

To report cases of child exploitation, visit here.