INDIANAPOLIS — A 31-year-old Westfield man will spend 38 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to multiple sex crimes against a child.
Erik Hanson was sentenced this 38 years on convictions for sexual exploitation of a child, conspiracy to commit sexual exploitation of a child and transportation of child sexual abuse material.
Hanson was found through an undercover investigation from the FBI. Detectives found Hanson was using Kik to solicit sex with a 14-year-old girl.
In communications uncovered by detectives, Hanson said that 14-year-old girls were his “favorite age” for sex.
Hanson asked the girl, who was actually an undercover agent, for sexually explicit photos, sent her images of his penis and attempted to meet with her for sex at a hotel in Tennessee, according to court documents.
A warrant uncovered Hanson's possession of more than 90 photos and videos of child sex abuse materials that included sexual abuse to infants, child bondage and child bestiality.
Investigators additionally found evidence of Hanson paying others to produce sex abuse materials for him.
“This defendant’s actions demonstrate that he is a dangerous pedophile, who must be kept away from our children in person and online,” said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Zachary A. Myers. “The sentence imposed here ensures that the defendant will not be in a position to exploit or abuse any more children for many years.”
