Pedophile gets 20 yrs. in prison, 2 yrs. of help

May 10, 2006

A Tinley Park child molester who insists he wants sex offender treatment was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in federal prison, but was told by a judge he'll have to spend the first 18 years teaching himself how to stop being a pedophile.

Barry W. Eytcheson, 43, admitted last year he fondled a 10-year-old girl and distributed pornographic pictures of her on the Internet.

"I understand that it was wrong and I just could not stop downloading and collecting these images," Eytcheson said in a statement to authorities. "I want to make an honest plea for help."

U.S. District Judge James Holderman said the U.S. Bureau of Prisons provides sex offender treatment only in the last two years of an inmate's stay.

"Every sex offender I've ever sentenced has told me he wants help," Holderman said. "I don't understand why the Bureau of Prisons has what is essentially a captive group ... and they aren't studying them for the greater good of society."

Daily Southtown