Louis Reginald Hamel III - Repeat Sex Offender - Had more than 10,000 Child Pornography images

Authorities said Hamel was a registered sex offender and was convicted at age 14 of molesting a 3-year-old in Barry County.

A Michigan man who is a registered sex offender faces federal charges in connection with more than 10,000 computer images of suspected child pornography, authorities said.

Louis Reginald Hamel III is charged with possession of child pornography, according to a criminal complaint filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids.

Calhoun County sheriff's investigators began looking at Hamel in July after his sister, an Augusta resident, filed a report that her juvenile son had found child pornography on his computer, according to an affidavit. The complaint says it was suspected that Hamel, who had been staying at his sister's home, "was responsible for the child pornography on her son's computer."

As part of their investigation, sheriff's investigators examined Hamel's external hard drive and found 10,600 suspected images of child pornography, including about 900 images involving infants or toddlers, 245 video files and 138 images of children "in sexually oriented bondage or sadistic and/or masochistic situations," according to the affidavit.

Authorities said Hamel was a registered sex offender and was convicted at age 14 of molesting a 3-year-old in Barry County.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte