Elkhart Man Pleads Guilty To Distributing Child Porn

An Elkhart man pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to distributing child pornography, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.

Daren Richard Coen, 69, Elkhart, Kan., pleaded guilty to two counts of distributing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography. Prosecutors told U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten that Coen collected child pornography over the Internet using a file sharing network. A detective with the Wichita Police Department downloaded child pornography from Coen�??s computer using the file sharing network. Investigators found child pornography on his computer when they executed a search warrant in May 2015 at Coen�??s home in Elkhart.

Sentencing is set for Feb. 29. He faces a penalty of not less than five years and not more than 20 years and a fine up to $250,000 on each count of distributing child porn, and a maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the possession count. Grissom commended the Wichita Police Department, the Kansas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart for their work on the case.