DALLAS — A 20-year-old Mesquite, Texas, man appeared in federal court today before Chief U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis and pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography, announced John Parker, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.

Jeremiah Chayse Gardiner faces a statutory penalty of not less than 15 years or more than 30 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is set for May 20, 2015. Gardiner remains in federal custody.

According to plea documents filed in the case, an investigation into cybertips received on April 8, 2014, led a detective with the Mesquite Police Department to determine that Gardiner uploaded images of child pornography to a social networking application called Tumblr. On April 17, 2014, detectives with the Mesquite Police Department went to West Mesquite High School to speak with Gardiner and execute a search warrant on his cellphone.

Gardiner admitted uploading images of child pornography to Tumblr, and he further admitted inappropriately touching “Jane Doe #2,” when she was three-years-old. Based on those admissions, the detectives obtained and executed an arrest warrant and search warrant for Gardiner’s residence, and Gardiner was taken into custody.

An examination of Gardiner’s cell phone revealed several images of child pornography, taken with Gardiner’s phone, depicting “Jane Doe,” a two-year-old girl.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”

The Mesquite Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks is in charge of the prosecution.