Paul Richard Butts - GUILTY - 24,000 Child Porn images

An Apache Junction man who had more than 24,000 images of child pornography on his computer was found guilty Friday in federal court on one count of distribution and 15 counts of possession.

Paul Richard Butts, 38, was charged during an undercover FBI operation to combat the distribution of child pornography over peer-to-peer file-sharing software. The iMesh software Butts used allows computer users to connect to the Internet and link computers around the world to share files.

Prosecutors said Butts shared pornography with undercover FBI agents Aug. 10, 2005. A search warrant executed at his home Oct. 6, 2005, resulted in the seizure of computers and numerous hard drives, external storage devices and computer discs containing child pornography, officials said.

Butts faces a maximum sentence of 20 years for the distribution conviction, a maximum of 10 years for each possession count and up to a $250,000 fine for each of the 16 counts. He will be sentenced May 18.