An Evansville man has been charged with three different child pornography crimes, according to federal court records.

James Wayne Luce, 28, is charged with one count each of possession of child pornography, transportation of child pornography and production of child pornography, according to the criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court on Friday.

The Wyoming U.S. Attorney's Office will seek to detain Luce because there's a serious risk he will flee, there's a serious risk of obstruction of justice, and he's charged with a criminal involving a minor victim.

Court records did not indicate that he had an attorney.

Last week, an agent with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations received a report from a Casper Police Department Detective about a child pornography investigation.

The agent learned that Luce on Sept. 6 produced and possessed an image of child pornography and on Sept. 13 transmitted it to Google through an account of his, according to the agent's affidavit accompanying the criminal complaint.

On Nov. 4, a Casper police officer gave the detective a phone found in a car by someone referred to as the "reporting party," who said the phone belonged to Luce. Luce was not the owner of the car. Luce lives on Lathrop Road in Evansville.

The next day, police obtained a search warrant for the phone, which had images of a nude female child.

On Dec. 15, the detective received data from the phone that identified Luce and other information including 51 images and three video files of child pornography that showed the female and what appeared to be Luce's hand.

Further investigation revealed that Luce was in Riverton when the images were recorded.

Law enforcement arrested Luce and booked him into the Natrona County Detention Center on Saturday, according to the jail roster.

If convicted, transportation and possession of child pornography are each punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment. Production of child pornography is punishable by between 15 years and 30 years imprisonmnet, followed by five years to lifetime probation after release from custody.

Other penalties include $5,000 special assessments according to the Victims of Sex Trafficking Act of 2015, and up to $50,000 special assessments according to the Amy, Vicky and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act.

The government regards child pornography as a crime of violence because it involves sometimes brutal assaults on very young children who cannot give consent to sexual activity.

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