The evangelical pastor of a church in Georgetown, Texas, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography in federal court on Tuesday, authorities said.
The subject identified as David Lloyd, 57, admitted to knowingly seeking, downloading, distributing and possessing pornographic material of child abuse and underage pornography, the Justice Department said in a press release.
In the original complaint, Lloyd was accused of downloading child pornography and making it available online through a file-sharing network called BitTorrent.
Following an investigation, authorities executed search warrants at Lloyd’s home and his vehicle in November of last year.
Investigators determined in their search that the suspect possessed two large computer hard drives containing more than 100,000 images and more than 5,000 videos depicting child sexual abuse, Fox News reported.
When the suspect was arrested, he was serving as a pastor at Faith Baptist Church in Round Rock, Texas.
Lloyd could face up to 20 years behind bars, as well as a fine of up to $250,000.
Meanwhile, the FBI’s San Antonio Division’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force handled the investigation with assistance from the Round Rock Police Department, the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office, and the Center Williamson County Children’s Advocacy.
The case was filed as part of the Safe Childhood project, which is a national initiative launched by the Department of Justice since 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
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