Cerritos Man Who Distributed Child Porn Online To Be Sentenced

CERRITOS, CA – A 55-year-old man who admitted distributing child pornography online involving illicit images of children under 10 could be sentenced to at least five years behind bars Monday.

Gerald Patrick Beaver, of Cerritos, was found to have 6,000-plus images and more than 450 videos of child porn on his laptop computer following a search warrant served at his home in May 2012, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Beaver, 55, admitted to distributing the illegal material to undercover investigators in New Zealand and Oklahoma over the internet using the Gigatribe file-sharing program, according to his plea agreement, filed in August in Los Angeles federal court.

Asked by U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson at his plea hearing in October if he had indeed committed the acts described, Beaver responded, "Yes, I did, your honor."

Beaver faces at least five years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release and mandatory registration as a sex offender, according to his plea agreement.

City News Service contributed to this post; Image via Shutterstock