KAILUA-KONA — A Hilo grand jury indicted a Mountain View man on charges of possession of child pornography, according to a press release from the Department of the Attorney General Thursday.
Albert Reginald Carvalho Jr., 35, was indicted Wednesday for two counts of promoting child abuse in the second degree and for possessing videos and images of child sexual abuse on his computer and cellphone.
According to the release, Carvalho is accused of possessing at least 962 files of children being sexually exploited, with at least 575 of those files depicting children under the age of 12, the release states.
“These charges involving sexual exploitation are horrific in scale,” said Hawaii Attorney General Douglas S. Chin. “This is abuse with a lasting negative impact on children. My office will prosecute those who engage in this destructive behavior.”
The investigation was conducted by the Hawaii Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in the Attorney General’s office in conjunction with Homeland Security and the Hawaii County Police. The files in question were recovered on or about Feb. 18, 2016, according to court documents.
Carvalho is facing two class B felonies, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The Mountain View man has no prior convictions.
A bench warrant was issued for Carvalho’s arrest. Bail is set at $11,000.