A Thompson, N.D., man is accused of possessing child pornography on his computer and sharing it on the Internet.
Simon Korst, 22, made his initial appearance in state District Court on Friday, and a judge set his bond at $7,500.
In December, the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation discovered a computer that was making child porn available on the Web and traced it to Korst's home, according to a BCI report.
The report says officers searched his home in January and, during the search, Korst acknowledged downloading and viewing child porn. He told officers he was the only person who used the computer and that he knew putting the porn in a shared folder meant he was making it available for others to download, the report states.
In February, a BCI agent examined the computer and found video files containing sexually explicit images of children, the report says.
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Korst faces a maximum of five years in prison on a charge of possessing child porn and 10 years on a charge of promoting an obscene sexual performance by a minor.
Prosecutor Nancy Yon said the delay in arresting Korst was partially because of the need to thoroughly examine his computer and its contents but declined to say what else caused the delay.
Korst, who bailed out Friday, has a preliminary hearing slated for Nov. 2.
A message left at the office of his attorney, DeWayne Johnston, was not returned.