A Mills man admitted in court Wednesday that he possessed child pornography.

Mark Howard Eldridge, 30, pleaded guilty to a single count of possessing child pornography. State law provides for a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine for the crime.

In exchange for Eldridge's guilty plea, Assistant District Attorney Kevin Taheri said the state will argue for a prison sentence of no more than two to eight years. A sentencing hearing will be set at a later date.

Charging documents say on July 31, a special agent of the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation was conducting an online investigation on a peer-to-peer file sharing network which was allegedly used to share child pornography.

In the course of the investigation, the agent downloaded a file containing child pornography from a device at a particular IP address, which was making the file available for download.

Investigators later went to a residence in Mills, where Eldridge lived with another man. As agents approached the home, Eldridge stepped outside with a "clear look of worry" on his face.

Eldridge allegedly said there was an "inevitability" that child pornography files would be found when agents searched electronic devices inside the home.

Eldridge remains free on bond pending sentencing.

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