A federal jury in Asheville, North Carolina deemed an Indiana man guilty of bringing child sexual abuse material to North Carolina and distributing it, according to the U.S. District Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina.

Brandon Keith Hardy, 44, of Bremen, was convicted of distributing and transporting child pornography, along with making notice of visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. The district attorney's office said Hardy used dark web chatrooms and encrypted messaging services to send material to send links on the dark web that had the child sex abuse material in question. However, Hardy was messaging with undercover law enforcement.

The office also said Hardy had a collection of child sex abuse material on his phone, had said he wanted to engage in sexual activity with a child, and claimed he had sexually abused other children.

He remains in federal custody. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

If sentenced to the maximum possible for both charges, Hardy could face up to 70 years in federal prison. The minimum sentences for both the transportation of child pornography and distribution of child pornography are five years, while the maximum is 20 years. The notice of child pornography charge will see a minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years. All three charges also include a $250,000 fine.