Westfield man sentenced to prison for child pornography charges

WESTFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – A Westfield man who was arrested last summer inside his home was sentenced to prison in Florida last week.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s office in Florida, 41-year-old Eric Bahre of Westfield was previously convicted of 15 counts of distribution of child pornography. On Friday, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison followed by 25 years of supervised release and must pay $35,500 in restitution to the victims.

In June of 2023, members of Westfield Police, State Police, Hampden County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security agents searched Bahre’s home and found electronic devices containing videos and photos of child exploitation material. They also found evidence that Bahre was communicating with a woman in south Florida through chatrooms dedicated to distributing this material.

Police discovered that Bahre sent dozens of child pornography videos, including abuse of infants and toddlers, to the woman through the chatrooms. Bahre emphasized to police that the videos “were for the woman to share them with her ‘child.’”

This case was part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. You can report online child sexual exploitation through the Cyber Tip Line or call 1-800-843-5678, which is operated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in partnership with Homeland Security.