— Authorities have apprehended a man who they say was involved in a child pornography ring run out of a fake day care and mentoring program in Sanford.

William Akers, 46, was arrested early Thursday at the Raleigh company where he works, according to Homeland Security Investigations, an office in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Akers, who authorities said used the alias "Peter Gilbert," was being held in the Wake County jail.

Authorities came across videos and photos of him engaged in sexually explicit conduct with an 8-year-old girl last year while investigating Bailey Joe Mills, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Raleigh.

Investigators say Mills, 33, used the fake day care and mentoring program at his Sanford home as a front to attract young girls and to create a relationship with their parents. He then offered the girls money to have sex with men he found through social media sites, and the encounters were often recorded, authorities said.

Harnett County authorities busted the operation in January 2014, when Mills was charged with having sex with a 13-year-old girl. Investigators identified about 10 male and female victims of the operation, ranging in age from 1 to 14.

Mills' wife and two other people also were charged in the case.

Mills has been convicted three times on charges related to sexual contact with children.