A 46-year-old South Carolina man recently pleaded guilty in federal court on federal child pornography charges. Reports detail that the Florence man's sentence will be decided at a later time as the federal judge reviews the presentence report that will be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.

Reports detailed that undercover Maryland FBI agents discovered that the SC man was sharing files containing child pornography within an online file sharing program. "Authorities say that Dixon was sharing thousands of files of child pornography when he was caught, and a search of the man's home found that he had a computer that held the porn."

Due to the child pornography charges, the man now faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 and a special assessment of $100. The investigation was executed by the FBI but was not possible without information provided by Project Safe Childhood. According to its website, Project Safe Childhood is "a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney's Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims."

Source: WLTX "46-year-old Pleads Guilty to Distributing Child Porn" 01/05/2010