5 month investigation results in 5+ year sentence

  • Published
  • By Wayne Amann
  • OSI Public Affairs

Air Force members who work on their government computers are trusted with knowing what proper and lawful operations entail. One senior member violated that trust on his AF issued laptop, broke the law and was sentenced for his crime.     

A former Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., colonel, Brian Wade Eddy, 46, was sentenced May 10, 2021, in the Western District of Oklahoma, to 64 months in federal prison after being convicted of accessing with intent to view child pornography on his Air Force issued laptop Dec. 1, 2019. 

At his sentencing hearing before the Honorable Joe Heaton, Eddy, who was a ranking colonel employed at Tinker at the time of the incident and has since been terminated, was also given 10 years of supervised release and ordered to pay $5,100.00 in special assessments.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the great relationship we have with Special Agent Eric Powell at Air Force Reserve Command, who was able to help us determine very quickly Eddy’s status as a civilian/reservist during the time of the offenses,” said Det. 114 Commander, Lt. Col. Shannon Bancroft-James. 

Det. 114 received initial notification for this investigation, which ran from May to September 2020, from OSI Investigations Collections Operations Nexus Center Insider Threat Referral personnel, who received information Eddy’s computer had been identified as attempting to access websites using known terms associated with child pornography. 

The key to the success of this case, stemmed from Eddy’s interview, when he admitted to attempting to access child pornography from his government laptop as well as viewing child pornography on his personal laptop. 

Det. 114, the sole investigative agency, found the most challenging aspect of the case to be the ability to get electronic data from the Air Force network, which perseverance overcame. 

“My Superintendent (SA Nicholas Linsalata) and I are extremely proud of the efforts of the agents in Det. 114, said Lt. Col. Bancroft-James. “Their dedication to OSI’s mission and continued pursuit for justice is evident by the hard work and integrity they display on a daily basis. “We are beyond fortunate to have such a phenomenal team and outstanding leadership to support us.”