Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Noel, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for possessing what is described in court documents as a massive library of child pornography.
Edward S. Hetherington, 55, of Noel, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to eight years and one month in federal prison without parole.
On Aug. 12, 2014, Hetherington pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography. Hetherington admitted that on March 12, 2013, there were images and videos of child pornography on his computers.
According to court documents, Hetherington’s criminal conduct occurred over a time span of 25 years, during which he amassed more than 100,000 images of sexual violence against children.
At the time of his arrest, Hetherington was in possession of a massive amount of child pornography. Law enforcement officers discovered eight external storage hard drives connected to his computer, which were full of images and videos of child pornography. Hetherington’s library of child pornography, which dates back as far as 1989, was organized into various categories that described the various acts of violence perpetrated against the children. Based on the evidence obtained, Hetherington possessed one of the largest and most extensive libraries of child pornography ever uncovered by agents with the Southwest Cyber Crimes Task Force.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by the FBI, the Southwest Cyber Crimes Task Force, the Cassville, Mo., Police Department and the McDonald County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.
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