Federal agents trying to figure out who made the child pornography being transmitted by an email account based in Gloucester County got help from the man himself when his own face appeared in several of the images, authorities said.

James Thiel, 32, of Williamstown, was arrested this week and charged with sexually exploiting children by manufacturing child pornography, according to court records in the U.S. District Court in Camden.

Investigators found that someone was sending child pornography from an email at IP address where Thiel lived, according to a court filing by Special Agent John DeLaurentis of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This occurred “at least as early as April 2019 through August 2019,” he wrote.

After subpoenaing his emails, DeLaurentis saw that on May 25 the email account sent two images of child pornography that also showed “the face of an adult white male.” The image was of Thiel, based on his driver’s license photograph, authorities said.

In another file sent June 8, a tattoo was visible that matched one Thiel has, authorities said.

The charges were filed Sunday and unsealed Monday after Thiel was arrested.

According to Bureau of Prisons records, he is being held in a federal prison in Philadelphia. It is not clear if he has a lawyer.

Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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