Watford City man arrested for possession of child sexual abuse material
Travis Bateman
Farmer Staff Writer
What began as a cyber tip originating in Colorado Springs, Colo., in October of 2025, to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) lead authorities to the door of a man living in an apartment complex on the west side of Watford City, Wednesday, March 18.
The North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations and the Watford City Police Department conducted surveillance and identified the man’s residence. Law enforcement executed a search warrant at the apartment of Edward William Eickhoff, Jr, 57, where he was detained.
The case involves communications via the platforms of WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger and includes sexually explicit images of girls ages 7 to 13 years of age. There was also payment made for images of underage girls to several adult women in the Philippines.
During the search warrant of the apartment, Eickhoff’s cellular phone was searched and additional explicit video and images were located on that device.
Eickhoff was interviewed by police and admitted to possessing the images and receiving them via WhatsApp according to the arrest affidavit.
Eickhoff was placed under arrest for the Class B Felony offense of Possession of Certain Materials Prohibited as defined in the North Dakota Century Code.
Bond was set at $175,000 and he was remanded to the McKenzie County Correctional Center.
Conditions of bail include not violating any criminal laws, no contact with anyone under 18, and he must stay 250 feet away from schools, churches, and playgrounds.
Eickhoff’s arraignment and preliminary court hearing is set for May 21, 2026, at 1 p.m. at the McKenzie County Courthouse.