PALM COAST, Fla. – A Palm Coast man is behind bars Thursday after pleading guilty to receiving child pornography over the Internet.
Timothy Edward McDermott, 61, now faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and could face up to 20 years in prison with a potential life term of supervision.
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According to reports, an FBI agent began an undercover investigation trying to identify people who were trading child pornography over the Internet.
That agent found out that McDermott was hosting and trading images of child pornography using a peer-to-peer file-sharing program, officials said.
FBI agents raided McDermott's residence, seized his computer and, during an interview, he admitted to downloading child pornography from a file-sharing website.
Officials said that they found 310 images and 68 videos of child pornography, including babies being sexually exploited by adults.
Agents from FBI offices in Dallas, Texas, Daytona Beach and Jacksonville, Florida, along with Flagler County Sheriff's Office and the Wheaton Illinois Police Department helped investigate the case.
According to the State Attorney's Office this case was a part of Project Safe Childhood, that brings together national and local law enforcement agencies to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.