Eric Eoin Marques, the Irish man accused of being the world's largest facilitator of child pornography has made his first appearance in a US court following his extradition.
Gardaí handed Mr Marques (33) over to the FBI at Dublin Airport on Saturday after his six year legal battle against extradition came to a end in the Supreme Court last week.
Mr Marques, who holds dual US and Irish citizenship but has lived in Ireland since childhood, is accused of renting out server space which was used to host a vast array of child abuse images and videos around the world. He is alleged to have made hundreds of thousands of euro from advertising and distributing the material.
He was first arrested in Dublin in 2013 following an international investigation involving the FBI, the Garda and Europol.
Mr Marques appeared in the in US District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland earlier on Monday. US magistrate Judge Timothy J. Sullivan remanded him in custody until Wednesday when Mr Marques will enter a plea to the four charges against him.
Announcing the charges, prosecuting US Attorney Robert K. Hur thanked the Irish authorities for extraditing the accused.
“Criminals cannot hide on the dark web or in foreign countries. We will find them and bring them to justice. We are grateful to Irish authorities for their assistance to bring Eric Marques to the United States to face these charges.”
FBI Assistant Director Robert Johnson commented:“Today’s extradition of Eric Marques demonstrates that no matter where you are in the world, the FBI and it’s international law enforcement partners will be diligent in their efforts to hold you accountable for your criminal activity.”
Mr Marques had offered to plead guilty on condition he was prosecuted in Ireland, an offer the Irish DPP rejected. If convicted he faces decades in US federal prison; some of the charges against him carry up to 30 years in prison.
