A Turlock man who was the subject of a Homeland Security investigation involving a child pornography ring will be spending the next three decades behind bars.

Jeffrey Randall Metcalfe, 47, was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Wednesday for receiving and distributing child pornography, said Department of Justice spokesperson Lauren Horwood. In addition to the 30-year sentence, Metcalfe was ordered to a lifetime term of supervised release.

In June 2012, the Homeland Security’s cyber crimes center and child exploitation investigation unit identified a website that had been used extensively to exchange images depicting child pornography. The agents were able to identify an account called “Asmodeusthe1st” and linked the internet protocol address to Metcalfe’s Turlock residence.

 “Asmodeus” is the name of a demon of lust that twists people’s sexual desires.

Metcalfe’s account was traced to 17 usernames on the website. Metcalfe had posted numerous images to the site and made comments about his interest in child pornography.

Metcalfe was taken into custody in December by agents from Homeland Security. At the same time, agents served a search warrant at his home on Cedar Ridge Drive and found a computer that contained a screen saver with images of children being sexually exploited as well as thousands of printed and digital images of child pornography, according to the court records.

At the time of his arrest, Metcalfe told the agents he had at least 10,000 still photos and videos depicting child pornography in his home and that his “goal” was to obtain 100,000, according to the criminal complaint filed against him by Homeland Security.

The pictures includes images of small children of the toddler and preschool age, preteens, teens and some people who appeared to be adults, according to the criminal complaint. In the images children were pictured in sexually explicit and graphic poses and acts with other children and with adults.

In the criminal complaint the agents stated Metcalfe told them he had two previous sexual encounters with minors. One was with a 14-year-old when he was 18 years old and the other was a 9 or 10-year-old when he was 30 years old.

 In June, Metcalfe pleaded guilty to one count of receiving and distributing child pornography. In his plea agreement he admitted that between January 2012 and December 1, 2013, he knowingly used a computer and the Internet to receive and distribute images of child pornography.

“Tragically, this case is not unusual — it’s all too common for defendants in child sexual exploitation cases to reoffend,” said Michael J. Toms, the acting assistant special agent in charge who oversees HSI Fresno. “That’s why HSI and its law enforcement partners must remain vigilant. It’s the only way to protect our youth and ensure that individuals, like this defendant, are held accountable for their crimes.”

This is not Metcalfe’s first conviction or arrest involving child pornography. In 2000 he was convicted in federal court for possession of child pornography. A review of Stanislaus County Superior Court records show a misdemeanor charge of possession of child pornography was lodged against Metcalfe in 2003, but dismissed the following year.

In 1992, Metcalfe pled guilty to two counts of first-degree custodial interference by enticing two minor girls to go with him out of state without the permission of their parents. At the time Metcalfe was on probation in California and had been ordered to have no contact with one of the girls. He was sentenced to three years formal probation and ordered to undergo an evaluation as a sex offender.

In sentencing, Judge Morrison C. England Jr. referenced the “extremely serious nature of the offense” and that this sentence was necessary to address the defendant’s “level of participation in the process” of the sexual exploitation of minors.

This case was the product of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Turlock Police Department. It was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.