A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted a 74-year-old Harrisburg man on child pornography charges, according to a U.S. attorney.
Robert L. Hayes Sr., 74, is accused of possessing pornographic images of children under the age of 12, according to an announcement from David Freed, the U.S. attorney for the middle district of Pennsylvania.
Hayes was in possession of the images in Harrisburg in October and November of last year, according to the indictment.
At that time, Hayes was on federal supervised release related to a 2007 guilty plea, according to the announcement.
In 2007, Hayes had pleaded guilty in a similar “federal child exploitation case," authorities said.
According to the announcement, Hayes’ indictment was the result of “a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.”
Hayes’ case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Probation Office.
If Hayes is found guilty of his charges, he could serve a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, authorities said.