Porn downloader jailed for abusing child at work

A US man who abused a pre-pubescent girl in his workplace has been jailed for 15 years.

Robert M Carey, 52, of Bowie, Maryland, also faces three years post-incarceration probation after he admitted producing and possessing numerous images of child abuse.

The paedophile, who became a fugitive from justice after fleeing the US following his December 2005 indictment, was also ordered to pay more than $50,000 in restitution to the family of one of his victims by US District Judge Roger W Titus.

Carey surrendered himself to US authorities in Rome in late January after the scope of his offences earned him a slot on US TV show America's Most Wanted. Faced with the weight of evidence against him, Carey pleaded guilty to child abuse offences in May, ahead of a sentencing hearing this week.

"The defendant not only downloaded more than one million pictures of abused children, he also sexually abused a child and took his own pictures," said US Attorney Rod J Rosenstein, in a statement. "I am grateful to America's Most Wanted for helping to bring so many fugitives to justice and protect other people from becoming victims."

Carey, who worked at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from 1974 until last year, used government computers and his home PCs to download images of child abuse in order to satisfy his twisted desires.

According to court papers, investigators recovered more than one million images of pre-pubescent girls and girls in their early teens in erotic or sexually graphic poses in photo albums, DVDs, CD ROMs and on PCs when they searched his home and office at the NOAA.

Among the images recovered during these August 2005 raids were images of a family member taken when the girl was between eight and 13 years old.

"Many of these images were sexually explicit, and included photographs taken at Carey's NOAA office. These images also included photographs of sexual acts between Carey and the minor," the DoJ said in a statement. ®