TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — A former Florida Election Commission attorney pled guilty on Monday to child porn charges after initially being arrested and charged in April 2021.
Eric Matthew Lipman, 59, of Tallahassee, Fla. pled guilty to conspiring to distribute, receive and possess material constituting child pornography and distributing material constituting child pornography.
According to investigators, between Feb. 8, 2021 and Feb. 11, 2021, Lipman, along with others, was a participant in online group chats that distributed, received, possessed and discussed child pornography.
Lipman conspired with members of the group chats to distribute, receive and possess material constituting child pornography and posted child pornography material within the chat groups for the benefit of other like-minded participants, investigators say.
The investigation also revealed that the pornographic material that Lipman distributed, and that was found on Lipman’s electronic devices, involved prepubescent minors as well as minors under the age of 12.
Lipman faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, with a minimum mandatory sentence of 5 years in prison, followed by a term of 5 years to life of supervised release on all counts following his prison sentence.
This case resulted from an investigation by the Homeland Security Investigations and the Leon County Sheriff’s Office.
Lipman’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 18, 2022, at 1:30 p.m., at the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee.
