A Liberty Township man has been indicted in federal court on child pornography charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana said.

Robert A. Billings, 33, was indicted on Wednesday on charges of receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

According to the probable cause affidavit filed by FBI Agent Marc Rochon, early last year an investigation showed probable cause that, between Jan. 25 and March 16, the user of a certain Internet provider (IP) address had made available for sharing—via a peer-to-peer file sharing program—multiple images of child pornography. Information from the Internet provider confirmed that the IP address belonged to Billings at his residence in Valparaiso, Rochon stated in his affidavit.

On Nov. 17, a search warrant was executed at Billings’ home and forcible entry made after “it was determined that no one was going to answer the door.”

“Numerous computers, hard drives, digital storage media, and related items were seized pursuant to the search warrant,” Rochon stated. “During an on-site preview conducted by a trained computer forensic examiner, images of children lasciviously displaying their genitals and children engaged in sexual acts were found.”

The review further indicated that Rochon had downloaded at least three videos—with a total running time of around three hours—between Sept. 1, 2011, and Nov. 17, Rochon stated.

Meanwhile, in his Dec. 27 ruling ordering Billings held without bond, U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew Rodovich agreed that the “government has demonstrated by clear and convincing evidence that (Billings) is a danger to the community.”

Rodovich further noted in his ruling that, while the search of his home was in progress on Nov. 17, Billings—in Florida at the time—succeeded in remotely accessing his computer and deleting several files containing child pornography, after being alerted by a neighbor’s phone call that agents were searching his residence.

Those files were later recovered, Rodovich stated.

At the time of his arrest, Billings was employed as a computer technician.

“Given the prevalence of computers in our society and other devices which provide access to the Internet, it would be extremely difficult to impose conditions on (Billings’) release which would deny him access to the Internet,” Rodovich added. “Under all of the circumstances, it is unlikely that the Probation Department could effectively monitor (Billings) if released on bond.”

If convicted, Billings is facing a mandatory minimum term of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years.