A 20-year-old Portland man who video recorded children urinating in public bathrooms and shared child pornography online was sentenced Monday to serve six years in prison on two federal charges of transportation and possession of child pornography.

Anthony Thea admitted to police, who seized his computer while executing a search warrant last October, that he used the computer to share child pornography and used his cellphone to make video recordings of children in bathrooms, according to court records.

Agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security began investigating online child pornography in late August that ultimately led them to arrest Thea, according to an affidavit by one of the agents, Christopher Fitzpatrick, in seeking the arrest warrant.

The agents discovered that multiple videos depicting prepubescent boys had been shared from an Internet address originating from an apartment on Main Street in South Portland and executed a search warrant at that address on Oct. 9, the affidavit says.

An occupant of the apartment told the agents that Thea had been staying there and that a computer in a bedroom belonged to him. Agents located Thea in Falmouth later that day. Thea allegedly admitted then that he had shared child pornography online and had recorded children and high school students in public bathrooms, Fitzpatrick said in the affidavit.

Authorities who analyzed Thea’s computer hard drive discovered 2,680 still images and 903 videos of child pornography and about 80 digital recordings of boys urinating in restrooms that Thea recorded between June 2011 and May 2013 without the boys’ knowledge, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Judge Jon Levy also sentenced Thea to serve five years of supervised release after completion of his prison term and to pay $1,500 in restitution.

Scott Dolan can be reached at 791-6304 or at:

sdolan@pressherald.com

Twitter: @scottddolan

Copy the Story Link