MILWAUKEE (TCN) — A former surgeon has been sentenced to 72 months in federal prison for the possession and distribution of child pornography, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced on Jan. 30.
WITI reports Calvin Eriksen, 47, was arrested on July 15, 2025, following a two-year investigation. In 2023, a Homeland Security agent was monitoring sex-related chat rooms, pretending to be a 29-year-old woman with an 8-year-old daughter. A user who said he was a surgeon in Wisconsin messaged that he would like to have sex with both of them. According to the U.S. attorney’s office, the user then sent the agent a nude photo of himself.
The undercover messages continued for several months and then the user stopped responding. The agent later saw the user’s screen name in another chat room. Filings from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children say the user uploaded two files of apparent child sexual abuse materials from an IP address originating at a hospital, according to WITI.
A warrant for the profile found 350 pictures and 60 videos and that the user had distributed them on other group chats.
WITI reports Eriksen worked as a transplant surgeon at Children’s Wisconsin, Froedtert Hospital and was also a professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin. WTMJ reports Eriksen was placed on leave after his arrest.
United States Attorney Brad Schimel said, “This case demonstrates the troubling reality that people who prey on children for sexual gratification can come from all walks of life.”
According to the U.S. attorney’s office, once Eriksen’s prison sentence is served, he will be on supervised release for seven years and will also be required to register as a sex offender under state and federal law.
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