UNITED STATES—On Wednesday, September 15, Eric Eoin Marques, 36, of Dublin, Ireland, was sentenced to 27 years prison time for facilitating the distribution of child porn depicting graphic images of children being sexually tortured and raped.

Marques reportedly asked District Judge Theodore Chuang to give him another chance just before sentencing.

“I have ruined my reputation and my family’s reputation. Please give me a second chance,” Marques requested. The suspect currently has dual citizenship in both Ireland and the U.S.

Judge Chuang rejected the original plea deal of 15-21 years prison time saying, “this crime was truly despicable.”

According to a press release by the U.S. Department of Justice, between July 24, 2008, and July 29, 2013, Marques operated an anonymous hosting service on the dark web accessible on the internet through special software that kept users anonymous.

The following description of the crimes Marques was charged with is listed in the press release.

“The hosting service hosted websites that allowed users to view and share images documenting the sexual abuse of children, including the abuse of prepubescent minors and violent sexual abuse. The investigation revealed that the hosting service contained over 200 child exploitation websites that housed millions of child exploitation material. Over 1.97 million of these images and/or videos were not previously known by law enforcement. Many of the images involved sadistic abuse of infants and toddlers.”

Acting U.S. Attorney, Jonathan F. Lenzner said, “Eric Marques was one of the largest facilitators of child pornography in the world.”

The Assistant Director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division stated:

“Today’s sentencing of Eric Marques sends a clear message to perpetrators of this egregious crime that no matter where you are in the world, law enforcement will hold you accountable and bring you to justice. The FBI combats crimes against children and stands up for vulnerable children across the globe. ”

The head of the European Cybercrime Centre, Edvardas Sileris, made the following statements:

“Europe is pleased to have played its part in what ranks as one of the most important investigations ever conducted into child sexual abuse. I applaud the great work of the FBI and our many other law enforcement partners in Europe and beyond for their cooperation on a global scale to tackle the most heinous crime and bring this dangerous individual before the court. Ensuring the safety of children by identifying those who have been victimized and educating children to avoid these harms remains a top priority of Europe.”

Public records indicate that on February 6, 2020, Eric Eoin Marques, plead guilty to conspiracy to advertise child pornography.