A Brantley County man is facing up to 20 years in prison after admitting he distributed images of child sexual exploitation.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

The Department of Justice said that Gary Kreitzman, 35, Nahunta, Ga., is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to distribution of child pornography. Kreitzman’s guilty plea comes with a statutory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison. The plea also entitles victims to receive restitution. He will be required to register as a sex offender and will face at least five years and a maximum of life to supervised release once he completes his prison sentence.

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

“Protection of our most vulnerable citizens is vitally important,” said U.S. Attorney David H. Estes. “The vigilance of our law enforcement partners helps ensure our communities are protected from predators like Kreitzman.”

As described in court documents and testimony, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children alerted the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in June 2020 after detecting images of child sexual exploitation uploaded through an online chat application.

With assistance from the Brantley County Sheriff’s Office, agents determined the images had been uploaded through an account operated by Kreitzman, and in September 2020 conducted a search of his residence.

Read: Florida man charged with nearly 1,200 counts of child pornography

During that search, the agents found multiple electronic devices containing images of child sexual activity, and Kreitzman admitted sharing them through the internet. The McIntosh County Sheriff’s Office and FBI Brunswick Resident Agency executed the arrest warrant for Kreitzman in September 2022.

“The internet is a very important and useful resource, but unfortunately can also be used for illegal activity as criminals like Kreitzman seek to prey on the most vulnerable of our population,” said FBI Atlanta special agent in charge Keri Farley. “The FBI will continue to aggressively pursue those who seek to victimize children and prosecute those predators to the fullest extent of the law.”

Sentencing will be scheduled upon completion of a pre-sentence investigation.

Anyone with information on suspected child sexual exploitation can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678, or visit https://report.cybertip.org/.

STAY UPDATED: Download the Action News Jax app for live updates on breaking stories