Man faces child porn charges

PERKINS TWP. — A Sandusky man was recently arrested for allegedly having a child send him sexually explicit material of themselves. On April 16, Perkins Township police arrested Eric S. Phillips Jr., 26, of the 2700 block of Tremper Ave., and booked him into the Erie County Jail on three counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor or impaired person, a second and fourth-degree felony. According to charging documents from the Sandusky Municipal Court, Phillips allegedly, on or about Feb. 6, 2025, told the child to create a sexually explicit video of themselves and send it over Snapchat. Background Perkins police Detective Joseph Rotuno said that the investigation into Phillips first began in January 2026 after the department received a cybertip from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force regarding someone who was allegedly attempting to receive nude images of a child. Rotuno said that when they first began investigating this case, the suspect, later identified as Phillips, was living in Elyria. Because Phillips lived in Elyria, Rotuno said that Elyria police assisted them in obtaining a search warrant and in seizing several electronic devices from his residence. He was then transported back to Erie County for charges. As of Thursday evening, Phillips was released from the Erie County Jail on a $30,000 bond on the condition that he have no social media, including Snapchat, according to court records. Phillips had a preliminary hearing in Sandusky Municipal Court on Wednesday where his case was bound over to the grand jury.