A man from Smackover was sentenced today to 180 months, or 15 years, in prison without parole for receiving child pornography. The sentencing happened in the U.S. District Court in El Dorado, with Chief Judge Susan O. Hickey in charge.
Court records show that 46-year-old Eric David Ponder used an online program to download child pornography onto two electronic devices. His illegal activity was first spotted by a detective from the Ozark Police Department.
After that, detectives from the El Dorado Police and agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) searched Ponder’s home. They found the two devices he used to get the illegal material.
This isn’t Ponder’s first run-in with the law. Back in 2014, he was convicted in Benton County, Arkansas, for a similar crime involving child exploitation. He served five years in prison and had to register as a sex offender. Even so, he committed this new crime.
A Grand Jury in the Western District of Arkansas charged Ponder in March 2024. He pleaded guilty in September 2024. U.S. Attorney Clay Fowlkes announced the sentencing.
The case was investigated by the FBI, El Dorado Police, Ozark Police, and Smackover Police. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Devon Still and Trent Daniels handled the prosecution.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a national effort started by the Department of Justice in 2006. The project works to stop child exploitation online by catching and prosecuting offenders and helping victims. For more details, visit www.justice.gov/psc.
