Feds: New Jersey man shared dozens of child porn images

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a northern New Jersey man shared dozens of images and videos of children being sexually abused.

Lenin Eugenio Basantes was detained without bail after making his initial court appearance Friday. He faces between five and 20 years in prison if convicted.

The 30-year-old Elizabeth man is charged with distributing images of child sexual abuse. Prosecutors say that in June 2013, Basantes distributed 18 video files and roughly 70 image files via a peer-to-peer file sharing network.

During an undercover operation, prosecutors say a special FBI agent communicated with Basantes via the network. Basantes allegedly provided the agent with a password to a file containing the images and video files, and the agent was able to access and download the images.

Basantes' public defender could not be reached for comment on Saturday.