Man found with more than 18,000 photos of child porn pleads guilty

A Linwood man found with more than 18,000 sexually explicit images of minors on his computer pleaded guilty Tuesday to making and distributing child pornography, U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said in a news release.

Two of the videos produced by 26-year-old Bradley Hilt feature a girl between the ages of 5 and 7, Beall said. Linwood is in Leavenworth County in northeast Kansas.

Law enforcement started investigating Hilton after an FBI task force member found images Hilt was sharing online on a peer-to-peer network. A forensic examination of his computer turned up 18,342 photos and 135 videos depicting children engaging in sexual conduct, according to Beall’s news release.

Hilt’s defense attorney and prosecutors have agreed to ask a judge to send him to federal prison for 15 years when he is sentenced, Beall said. That date hasn’t been set yet.

This story was originally published April 12, 2017 at 10:03 AM with the headline "Man found with more than 18,000 photos of child porn pleads guilty."