Richard J. Probst, Child Pornography Receipt, SC 2023

A 65-year-old Columbia, South Carolina man has admitted to receiving child pornography through a foreign computer network, capping decades of criminal activity stretching back to 1986. Richard J. Probst pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of receiving child pornography that had traveled in foreign commerce, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A. The plea was entered before United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis, who will sentence Probst after reviewing a presentence report prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.

Acting United States Attorney Beth Drake announced the guilty plea today, underscoring the international reach of the investigation that led to Probst’s arrest. Evidence presented during the change of plea hearing revealed that Probst had been amassing child sexual abuse material for over three decades. His digital trail finally caught up with him thanks to a joint operation between U.S. authorities and the German Federal Police, who identified a peer-to-peer network trafficking in illicit images of children.

German investigators traced activity on the network to multiple individuals across the globe, including Probst. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed he was actively receiving and likely distributing child pornography through the platform. Authorities say such networks operate in the dark corners of the internet, exploiting encryption and anonymity to exchange horrific material—material Probst knowingly accessed and retained.

Probst now faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison, followed by mandatory lifetime supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Federal prosecutors emphasized the gravity of the offense, noting that each downloaded image represents a real child victim whose abuse is perpetuated every time the material is viewed or shared. The case illustrates the ongoing threat posed by online predators who operate with a sense of digital impunity.

The investigation was conducted jointly by agents from the Department of Homeland Security and the German Federal Police Department—highlighting the transnational nature of cyber-enabled child exploitation. Such cooperation is increasingly critical in dismantling networks that span continents and evade national borders through technology.

Assistant United States Attorney William E. Day, II is prosecuting the case out of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina in Columbia. Bill Day can be reached at (803) 929-3000 for further information. As sentencing looms, federal authorities warn others in the shadows of the web: the reach of justice is growing longer, faster, and more relentless.