Extradited: Irish-American man allegedly spread child porn

GREENBELT, Md. – An Irish-American man has been extradited from Ireland to the United States on charges that he helped distribute child porn on the darknet.

The Baltimore Sun reports the U.S. Attorney’s Office says 33-year-old dual citizen Eric Eoin Marques has a Wednesday hearing in federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland on charges of conspiracy to advertise and distribute child pornography.

Prosecutors say Marques hosted an anonymous hosting service on the darknet that spread the porn for five years. He was arrested in 2013 after a malware attack revealed his identity.

The darknet is a part of the internet hosted within an encrypted network such as the Tor browser, which grants anonymity by rerouting user traffic.

The newspaper says he was extradited Saturday and court records didn’t list an attorney for him.

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Information from: The Baltimore Sun, http://www.baltimoresun.com