A Crawfordsville, Indiana, man, who is a convicted sex offender, was recently arrested for alleged possession of child sexual abuse material.

The Department of Justice said in a Jan. 27 press release that Google, LLC’s discovery of sexually explicit images of minors on its servers in 2021 prompted an investigation by Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. That investigation led to the arrest of Christopher Gene Beke, Sr., 43. 

Beke Sr. was previously convicted of child molestation and possession of child pornography, the release stated.

“This case is a great example of how an international corporate giant like Google can use technology to detect child sexual abuse images being stored online and then quickly get that information into the hands of local law enforcement officers,” United States Attorney, Zachary A. Myers, said in the release. “Using these internationally generated leads, our ICAC Task Force can put local boots on the ground to stop people who traffic in sexually explicit images of children. And a special thanks for the incredible work of our law enforcement partners in Montgomery County.”

A search warrant was presented to Beke, Sr., and he reportedly admitted to possessing devices that contained sexually explicit images of minors, according to the DOJ.

Authorities charged Beke, Sr., with possession of a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct (with a prior conviction), the release stated.

If convicted, he faces a minimum of a decade in federal prison, according to the DOJ.