Man Pleads Guilty; Faces 10 Years for Child Pornography

FORMER TINKER AFB EMPLOYEE AND RESERVE AIR FORCE COLONEL PLEADS GUILTY TO ACCESSING AND VIEWING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY ON GOVERNMENT-ISSUED LAPTOP

OKLAHOMA CITY – BRIAN WADE EDDY, 49, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty today to accessing and viewing images of child pornography from his government-issued laptop.

On May 21, 2020, Mr. Eddy was charged by criminal complaint with using his laptop computer with the intent to view child pornography.  The affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint indicates Mr. Eddy accessed websites suspected to contain child pornography on December 1, 2019.  On June 17, 2020, a federal grand jury sitting in the Western District of Oklahoma returned a one-count Indictment that charged Mr. Eddy with knowingly accessing, with intent to view, child pornography.

This afternoon, Mr. Eddy pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton to the charge alleged in the Indictment.  As part of his plea, Mr. Eddy admitted that he searched for and viewed images of child pornography from his government laptop in December 2019.

According to the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations, at the time of the incident Mr. Eddy was a civilian employee at Tinker Air Force Base, and has since been terminated.  He was also a ranking Colonel in the Air Force Reserves.  Mr. Eddy currently remains in federal custody while he awaits sentencing.  He faces up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, at least five years of supervised release, and a $22,100 special assessment.  Sentencing will take place in approximately 90 days.

This case is the result of an investigation by the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia E. Barry.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the DOJ Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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 www.justice.gov/psc.