Former Lutz Museum Director Facing 5 to 20 Years After Child Porn Plea

MANCHESTER, CT — The former director of the Lutz Children's Museum in Manchester has entered a guilty plea in a federal child pornography case that involved images he is accused of collecting while at that position, a leading prosecutor said.

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, said Friday that Robert Eckert, 56, of West Hartford, entered a guilty plea the previous day to the distribution of child pornography.

U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill presided over the case in Bridgeport.

According to case records and indictment delivered in the spring of 2021, Eckert used multiple internet platforms, including MeWe and Kik, to solicit, receive and distribute images of "child sexual abuse" and to communicate with others about the distribution of child pornography.

He accessed the online platforms on his phone, at his residence, and at the Lutz Museum while he was employed as its executive director, according to the indictment.

Between September 2019 and May 2020, Eckert possessed 1,837 image files and 73 videos depicting "child sex abuse," including "the abuse of prepubescent minors," according to case records.

Eckert was arrested on April 8, 2021.

Judge Underhill scheduled sentencing for Nov. 28, at which time Eckert faces a mandatory minimum prison term of five years and a maximum term of 20 years.

Eckert is released on a $100,000 bond, pending sentencing.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with the assistance of the Connecticut State Police and the Manchester Police Department.