D Walden 
The 36-year-old who was born in New York but has dual citizenship was extradited from Dublin to Maryland in the US in 2019
Eric Eoin Marques, who has been described as the world’s biggest facilitator for child sexual abuse imagery, is due to be sentenced by a US court later today.
The 36-year-old who was born in New York but has dual citizenship was extradited from Dublin to Maryland in the US in 2019 following his 2013 arrest.
Marques pleaded guilty in February 2020, as part of a plea agreement, admitting that between July 24, 2008, and July 29, 2013, he conspired to advertise child sexual abuse by operating an anonymous hosting service on the dark web.
Prosecutors have agreed to a plea deal of a recommended prison sentence of 21 to 27 years.
The defence is asking the judge in the US District Court in Maryland to grant supervised release that would allow Marques to live in Ireland after he completes his prison sentence.
Investigators found what appeared to be more than 8.5m images and videos of child abuse on the Freedom Hosting server, according to a court filing that accompanied Marques’ guilty plea.
In an April court filing, a prosecutor said a government witness was prepared to testify that investigators had identified Marques as the largest purveyor of child abuse imagery in the world and that he had made approximately $3.6m (€3m) in U.S. currency from his servers.
