A San Miguel County resident has pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography, including 281 pornographic videos, U.S. Attorney Jason R. Dunn’s office announced last week.

Colorado’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force had been investigating Jason Van Hoesen since 2018. The Colorado Springs Police Department, which is the lead agency for the task force, received a tip of an IP address used to upload child pornography. Upon investigation, the department confirmed that the image in question was of a boy between the ages of six to 10, and the IP address was registered to a Centurylink subsidiary in Mountain Village, near Telluride. 

“On February 8, 2019, [Mountain Village Police Department] executed a state search warrant at the Mountain View residence where Van Hoesen and his roommate were contacted,” Dunn’s office wrote. “Law enforcement conducted a search of the roommate’s cell phone and computer, which revealed no child pornography.”

A forensic examination of 10,500 files involving child pornography on Van Hoesen’s various devices uncovered that he even possessed photographs of infants and toddlers. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 4,400 of the files pertained to previously-identified child victims.

Van Hoesen pleaded guilty on July 6 and will be sentenced in October. He will pay restitution to 20 underage victims as part of a plea agreement.