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A Nicholas County man was sentenced to almost 20 years in prison Thursday after being convicted of receiving child pornography.

Robert Ray Butler, 39, was sentenced to a total of 235 months in prison. United States Chief District Court Judge Jennifer B. Coffman cited one of Butler’s prior convictions and the quantity and graphic nature of the child pornography images in this case as reasons for imposing the long sentence.

Butler was convicted in 2003 for two counts of possession of a matter portraying sexual performance of a minor and sexual abuse in the first degree. According to court documents, a forensics examination of Butler’s home computer in 2009 revealed more than 2,000 images and over 100 videos of suspected child pornography that included images of toddlers and infants engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

The investigation started in April 2009, when Butler was stopped in Powell County for a traffic violation and subsequently arrested pursuant to an arrest warrant for failing to register as a sex offender. He pleaded guilty to that charge in November 2009 in Fayette Circuit Court.

In addition, court records also stated that Butler’s girlfriend obtained Butler’s computer that was located in the vehicle he was stopped in and discovered child pornography on it. She turned the computer over to Kentucky State Police, who later obtained a search warrant for the computer and for Butler’s home computer in Nicholas County. Detectives found child pornography on both computers.