Ex-prison guard pleads guilty to porn charges

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A former Illinois Department of Corrections guard has pleaded guilty to charges of distributing and possessing child pornography and sexually exploiting a minor.

The sentencing of 46-year-old Steven L. Carson of Hillsboro is scheduled for June 21 by U.S. District Judge Richard Mills.

Carson worked as a guard at Graham Correctional Center. He has been in custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his arrest in August.

According to court records and in testimony during a hearing last week, Carson admitted using a child to perform sexually explicit conduct he videotaped. He also admitted sharing child pornography images over the Internet. Authorities recovered 2,300 images and 40 videos from his computers.

Carson faces a sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison.