Former director of Manchester children’s museum gets prison on child pornography charge
The former executive director of the Lutz Children’s Museum in Manchester was sentenced to 5½ years in prison Tuesday for distributing child pornography, according to federal authorities.
Robert Eckert, 56, of West Hartford, also was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to five years of supervised release, according to federal authorities.
Authorities, citing court documents and statements made in court, said 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.”
Eckert also accessed the online platforms on his phone, at his home and at the Lutz Children’s Museum in Manchester where he was its executive director.
Investigators seized Eckert’s cellphone in June 2020 and an analysis of it revealed 1,837 image files and 73 videos depicting child sex abuse, “including the abuse of prepubescent minors,” federal authorities said in a statement.
Eckert was arrested in April 2021 and he pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography in September 2022.
Eckert is free on a $100,000 bond and is required to report to prison on Feb. 15, the statement said.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, with help from the Connecticut State Police and Manchester 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, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
To report cases of child exploitation, visit www.cybertipline.com.
