BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — A Vestavia Hills man was convicted on child pornography charges Tuesday.

Eugene Reid III, 48, was convicted of distribution and transportation of child pornography charges, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama Prim Escalona said. The maximum penalty for the charges is 20 years in prison and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of at least five years up to life.

In 2020, FBI Milwaukee, in collaboration with the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office, was investigating numerous groups of individuals engaged in the receipt, possession, distribution and possible production of child sexual abuse material through a proactive operation.

The evidence at trial established that Reid distributed and transported numerous videos and images of child sexual abuse material on the Kik messaging application in private groups in 2020.

The FBI Birmingham’s Child Exploitation Human Trafficking Task Force investigated the case with the assistance of the FBI Milwaukee Division, Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office, Vestavia Hills Police Department, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.