Ex-Fed Worker Jailed For Child Porn

A former worker for the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration was sentenced to 15 years in prison Wednesday for downloading more than 1 million pornographic photos of children at his office and home.

Robert M. Carey, 52, pleaded guilty in May to producing and possessing child pornography. Authorities found sexually explicit photos of girls in photo albums, on DVDs, CDs and on his computers at the NOAA and his home in Bowie, Md. He admitted to downloading child pornography at work for 10 years.

U.S. District Judge Roger Titus also ordered Carey to pay $50,000 to a female family member. Carey had explicit photos of the girl dating from when she was between 8 and 13 years old, including some depicting sexual acts between the two.

"This case demonstrates both the scope and the severity of the harm caused by online child pornography," Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said in a statement. "The defendant not only downloaded more than one million pictures of abused children, he also sexually abused a child and took his own pictures."

Carey had worked at the NOAA since 1974.

After he was indicted in December, Carey fled the country. He eventually turned himself in to U.S. officials in Rome after he was featured on the television program "America's Most Wanted."