A Newnan man was sentenced Friday to 12 years and six months in prison for distributing child pornography through his use of a peer-to-peer computer program, officials said.

Charles Carroll, 35, had more than 300 photos and 64 videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, mostly girls between the ages of 6 and 10 years, U.S. Attorney John Horn said in a news release.

His actions were discovered during a statewide investigation of programs used to share photos and videos of child pornography.

“Carroll believed he could use a sophisticated computer program to safely download child pornography and evade law enforcement,” Horn said.

Agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation discovered the software program that allowed Carroll to share files directly without having to use a server and captured the IP address registered to Carroll’s home, where he lived alone.

A search of Carroll’s home in October 2014 led to his arrest. He was found guilty by a jury June 22.

Horn said there is no parole in the federal prison system and when Carroll is released he will be on probation for the remainder of his life.

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