A 69-year-old Canton man has been charged in federal court with downloading 24 files of child pornography from the internet that were monitored by the FBI.
Marshall Belden Jr., of Market Avenue South, is charged with knowingly receiving and distributing child porn that was transmitted over state lines.
According to court documents, Belden downloaded 17 files of child porn on Oct. 24 and seven files on Oct. 25. FBI task force agents allege he used a peer-to-peer file-sharing program to download the files. Peer-to-peer programs allow users to download files placed in special folders by other users and to share their own files with other users.
FBI agents obtained Belden’s computer IP address and identified him using a subpoena to Time Warner Cable.
On Thursday, agents went to Belden’s home and interviewed him about the files. According to court documents, he admitted to purposefully downloading the files and viewing them.
The files depicted sex acts performed on toddlers and prepubescent children.