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Former Abilene daycare worker faces new charges

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A man charged with child sex crimes and sent home to live with his parents in College Station, is behind bars again.

Benjamin Russell Roberts, 25, didn't commit any new crimes to land back in jail. A new agency had new charges, just days after he returned to Central Texas to await trial on his state charges.

Child pornography, one of the charges Roberts faces, takes place across state lines, and comes under the jurisdiction of the FBI. It is a federal crime.

The criminal complaint filed in the United States District Court details how Roberts went to the so-called "dark web", a part of the internet known for illegal activity.

Investigators said he went to a special peer-to-peer network that required a special "manifest key" or password, to access restricted material.

Detectives identified a recurring internet address that had requested to download child pornography files.

They eventually traced that to a home where Roberts lived in Abilene.

During an interview with law officers, Roberts' reportedly admitted to receiving the files and storing them on a thumb drive.

A forensic review of Roberts' computer showed traces of 373 files related to his downloading of child pornography, along with 33 videos.

The evidence helped build a federal case, totally separate to the Texas charges Roberts faces for improper touching and other actions at the church daycare where he worked.

Last week, Roberts and his family got his state bond reduced, allowing him to come home to the Brazos Valley, but it had no impact on the federal case, which landed him in jail within days.

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