Michigan – A Saginaw man has been sentenced to more than 19 years in federal prison for sexually exploiting children, officials said. Eric Hartman, 34, was sentenced on June 27, 2024, in Detroit federal court, according to U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison. In March, Hartman pled guilty to sexual exploitation and attempted sexual exploitation of a minor.
According to a news release from Ison’s office, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Ludington also sentenced Hartman to serve five years on federal supervised release after his prison sentence.
Ison was accompanied in the announcement by Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Detroit Field Office.
“Mr. Hartman is a glaring example of the manipulative nature of sexual predators, underscoring the relentless efforts of the FBI to apprehend these criminals and safeguard our children,” Gibson told reporters on Monday. “His actions were disgusting, and those who commit such atrocities will be held accountable. The FBI invites anybody with information about child sexual exploitation to submit it at tips.fbi.gov or by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI.”
According to Ison’s office, Hartman’s crimes were discovered in 2023 after a 13-year-old reported to the FBI that he was threatening her and forcing her to transmit sexually explicit photographs and videos to him online.
“Law enforcement traced Hartman to Saginaw, and the FBI executed a search warrant at Hartman’s residence where they recovered multiple electronic devices,” according to the announcement. “The FBI investigated the devices and discovered numerous online conversations between Hartman and minors in which Hartman requested that the minors send him sexually explicit videos.” “They also discovered numerous images and videos of other child sexually abusive material” ourmidland stated.
The FBI investigated the case, and Katharine Hemann, an Assistant United States Attorney, prosecuted it.
“This case came to light through the bravery of a young victim who came forward to bring her predator to justice,” Ison claimed in the press statement. “This sentence justly punishes the defendant for preying on children and hopefully will encourage others to seek help from trusted adults and law enforcement if they are being coerced into sending explicit images online.”