{{Short description|American sex offender (born 1982)}} {{Use American English|date=December 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2025}} {{Infobox FBI Ten Most Wanted | name = Eric Justin Toth | image = | imagesize = | image_caption = Eric Justin Toth added to FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted List | alt = 4 Photos of Eric Justin Toth taken in 2008, 2008, 2009 and 2006 | charge = | reward = $100,000 | alias = David Bussone<ref name = "CNN">{{cite news | title = Former teacher wanted for child porn makes - FBI list | url = https://www.cnn.com/2012/04/10/justice/teacher-fbi-top-ten/index.html | date = April 10, 2012 | access-date = April 10, 2012 | work=CNN}}</ref> | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1982|02|13}} | birth_place = Hammond, Indiana, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | cause = | nationality = American | gender = Male | height = {{height|ft=6|in=3}} | weight = {{convert|155|lb|kg}} | occupation = Teacher | parents = | siblings = | spouse = | children = | conviction = * Possession of Child Pornography * Production of Child Pornography | conviction_penalty = 25 years' imprisonment | conviction_status = | added_date = April 10, 2012 | caught_date = April 22, 2013 | remove_date = | number = 495 | status = Captured }} '''Eric Justin Toth''' (born February 13, 1982), also known under the alias '''David Bussone''', is an American former fugitive and sex offender convicted of possessing and producing child pornography.<ref name = "CNN"/> On April 10, 2012, Toth replaced Osama bin Laden on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list as the 495th fugitive to be placed on that list by the FBI.<ref name = "CNN"/> One alleged reason he was chosen for the list is that his distinctive appearance—tall and thin, with a mole under his left eye—would make it hard for him to hide if his case became well publicized.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/11/us/osama-bin-laden-replaced-on-fbis-most-wanted-list.html?_r=1&hp | work=The New York Times | first=Michael S. | last=Schmidt | title=Osama Bin Laden Replaced on F.B.I.'s Most Wanted List | date=April 10, 2012}}</ref> Toth was captured in Esteli, Nicaragua, on April 10, 2013,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hosted2.ap.org/txdam/2328593e932a4d72bf7e9798dc61d072/Article_2013-04-22-LT-Nicaragua-American-Arrested/id-b36bdfe8740048fb85cf13dff9338d68|title=News from AP - The Dallas Morning News, dallasnews.com}}</ref> and extradited on April 22 to the United States to face trial.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/fbi-tip-led-us-wanted-child-porn-suspect-19022333#.UXakhrXvsQk|title=U.S. News - National News|author=ABC News|work=ABC News}}</ref>
==Biography== Eric Toth was born in Hammond, Indiana, and was raised in Highland, Indiana. Toth attended Cornell University for a year and transferred to Purdue University, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in education.<ref name = "FBI">{{cite web|url=https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten/eric-justin-toth/view|title=FBI — Homepage|work=FBI}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/hammond/hammond-native-eric-toth-on-fbi-s-ten-most-wanted/article_84e5130a-4a0d-5382-a63a-cb8e1a6d71b4.html |title=Hammond native Eric Toth on FBI's 'Ten Most Wanted Fugitives' list |date=April 11, 2012 |newspaper=The Times of Northwest Indiana |access-date=January 20, 2013}}</ref> In 2008, he was accused of producing pornographic photographs and video footage of young boys while working as a third-grade teacher in Washington, D.C.<ref>{{cite web|first=Laura J.|last=Nelson|url=https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-xpm-2013-apr-23-la-nn-na-child-pornography-nicaragua-fbi-eric-toth-20130423-story.html |title=Eric Toth, on FBI's most wanted list, is arrested in Nicaragua |date=2013-04-23 |work=Los Angeles Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601064532/http://articles.latimes.com/2013/apr/23/nation/la-nn-na-child-pornography-nicaragua-fbi-eric-toth-20130423 |archive-date=2013-06-01 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Toth was described as a computer expert; he demonstrated above-average knowledge regarding computers, the use of the Internet, and security awareness.<ref name="FBI"/> Toth had the ability to integrate into various socio-economic classes and was an expert at social engineering.<ref name = "FBI"/> He used social networking sites regularly. His educational background was conducive to gaining employment in fields having a connection to children. Some described Toth as a compulsive liar.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/22/AR2008112201986.html |title=Former Beauvoir Teacher Featured on 'America's Most Wanted' |date=November 23, 2008 |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140506090518/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/22/AR2008112201986.html |archive-date=May 6, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Toth was captured by Nicaraguan police in April 2013 in Estelí, a northern city of Nicaragua. He was immediately extradited to the United States to face trial.<ref>{{cite news|title=Eric Justin Toth, one of FBI's 'most wanted,' captured in Nicaragua|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/eric-justin-toth-fbi-wanted-captured-nicaragua-article-1.1324396|access-date=10 December 2013|newspaper=NY Daily News|date=22 April 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fbi.gov/washingtondc/press-releases/2013/fbi-top-ten-fugitive-now-in-custody|title=FBI — FBI Top Ten Fugitive Now in Custody|work=FBI}}</ref>
==Sentence== In March 2014, Toth was sentenced in federal court to 25 years in prison. He is currently incarcerated at FCI Fort Dix.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fbi.gov/washingtondc/press-releases/2014/former-teacher-sentenced-to-25-years-in-prison-for-production-of-child-pornography-and-other-charges|title=Former Teacher Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Production of Child Pornography and Other Charges|website=FBI|language=en-us|access-date=2019-12-11}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten/eric-justin-toth/view Toth's FBI Top 10 Most Wanted Fugitive Alert] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20120415042355/http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=58823 Additional information from ''America's Most Wanted''] * [https://www.cnn.com/2013/04/22/justice/fbi-top-ten-arrest/index.html cnn.com]
{{Include-USGov|agency=Federal Bureau of Investigation|article=Eric Justin Toth|url=https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten/eric-justin-toth/view}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toth, Eric Justin}} Category:1982 births Category:21st-century American criminals Category:American people convicted of child pornography offenses Category:American people of Slovak descent Category:Cornell University alumni Category:Elder High School alumni Category:Living people Category:Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government Category:Purdue University College of Education alumni Category:Schoolteachers from Washington, D.C. Category:Violence against men in the United States