TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A former Florida Election Commission attorney was sentenced to multiple years in federal prison.
Eric Matthew Lipman, age 60 of Tallahassee, was sentenced to 72 months or six years in federal prison.
Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida announced the sentencing Friday in a news release.
The United States Attorney’s Office Northern District of Florida said Lipman pled guilty on Dec. 13, 2021 for offenses of conspiring to distribute, receive, and possess material constituting child pornography, and distributing material constituting child pornography.
“Those who seek to view and share child pornography facilitate the abuse of children by those who produce and profit from this illegal content,” Coody said in a statement. “With the assistance of our law enforcement partners, we will ensure that those who engage in such heinous conduct will be held accountable for their actions.”
The attorney’s office notes after Lipman serves time in prison, he will be subject to nine years of supervised release or probation, will be required to register as a sex offender and will be subject to sex offender conditions.
The Department of Justice's U.S. Attorney’s Office Northern District of Florida notes between Feb. 8-11, 2021, Lipman was part of a New Zealand-based chat group that distributed, received, possessed and discussed child pornography images and videos.
“LCSO applauds the work of investigators and the collaborative efforts by all entities involved in seeing justice carried out in this case,” Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil said in a statement. “We must continue to do our due diligence in protecting our most vulnerable and precious members of our community.”
