(Alhambra)--After a heavy federal and local police presence in Livingston on Thursday, child pornography charges have been filed in federal court in East St. Louis against a rural Alhambra man. 34 year old Robert Godsey was arrested at his home in a raid by federal and local authorities. The Department of Homeland Security, the Customs and Border patrol, Madison County Sheriff's Office, along with the Alton Police Department executed the raid. Godsey has been charged with three counts of distribution, receipt, and possession of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Special Agent John Taylor of the Department of Homeland Security stated that Godsey's e-mail address appeared in Detroit in another investigation. During the raid authorities seized a notebook computer, and two hard drives. Godsey admitted that he had been collecting child pornography for many years, and trades the pornography using the e-mail account that federal authorities had been tracking. Godsey estimated that he had approximately 600 videos and over one thousand images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct on the notebook computer.

Godsey, who as assigned a public defender, waived his rights to a preliminary hearing.