Riverside police searching for discharged Camp Pendleton Marine accused of sharing child porn

Amid multiple child pornography investigations that netted several arrests this year, Riverside police said Friday they were still searching for a discharged Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton suspected of sharing that content online.

The Riverside Police Department said investigators received tips — that the suspects were using social media to share images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of young children — from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The investigations have led to the arrests of five Riverside men.

But authorities said they were still working to locate and arrest a sixth suspect, 24-year-old Eric Stiegelmeyer.

“At the time (detectives) discovered he was sharing child pornography over the internet, Eric was an active duty Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton,” Riverside police said in a statement.

Riverside detectives worked with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and Escondido police to identify Stiegelmeyer, to identify and arrange an interview with him. The Escondido Police Department also had an open investigation on the Marine for the same type of criminal activity, according to Riverside police.

“Unfortunately, Eric was discharged by the Marine Corps without notice to the investigators before a federal arrest warrant was obtained,” Riverside police said.

A representative with Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Marine Corps was aware of the investigation, but Riverside police spokesman Ryan Railsback said it wasn’t known why he was discharged or if it was related to the investigation.

It also wasn’t immediately known exactly when Stiegelmeyer was discharged, but Railsback said it was within recent months when officials were working to get a warrant to arrest him on base.

“We don’t know where he’s at,” Railsback said Friday.

It also wasn’t known where Stiegelmeyer is originally from.

Stiegelmeyer and the five other suspects arrested on suspicion of sharing child pornography are not believed to be connected to one another, Railsback said. The arrests stemmed from separate tips that detectives were working, he added.

The six suspects were suspected of downloading, uploading and/or sharing child pornography on the internet, according to officials.

“We don’t believe they were actually making the child porn,” Railsback said.

The five Riverside men who were arrested on suspicion of possession and distribution of child pornography were accused of using several social media platforms to share the pornographic photos and videos, including Instagram and Facebook, according to police. In all five arrests, Riverside police said they found additional evidence during searches at each of their residences.

The suspects are not believed to be familiar with one another and detectives received separate tips for each individual, according to Railsback.

It wasn’t immediately clear what the status for each of the five cases were Friday evening.

“Riverside Police Internet Crimes Against Children Unit detectives have received extensive training related to child exploitation investigations, and have put that training to good use to help ensure children are protected from these types of predators,” Sgt. Rick Wheeler said in a statement.