SEATTLE -- A federal grand jury indicted a 24-year-old Bothell man Thursday on charges of sex with a minor and production of child pornography.



Thomas Mahoney faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, if convicted.



He is to be arraigned on the charges later this month, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.



According to records filed in the case, Facebook notified the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about sexual conversations and photos being exchanged between an adult and child on Facebook. Law enforcement in California located the minor and officers in Seattle traced the internet address to Mahoney.



"Travel records confirm information from the victim that Mahoney traveled to California three times in 2016 and 2017 to have sex with the victim," the U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle said in a news release. "The victim was 12 years old when Mahoney 'friended' the victim on Facebook and was 14 years old when Mahoney initiated sex. Mahoney made videos of the sexual contact, thereby producing child pornography."







