Federal prosecutors filed a complaint on Monday against a former child welfare agency official, Albert Zimmerman, accused of paying two teenage boys for sexually explicit photos of themselves, which he later sent to overseas amateurs of child pornography.

Authorities reported that one of the two boys was in state foster care and ran away from his foster home after being paid for the “job”. The other boy told the investigators he repeatedly sent photos of himself nude to Zimmerman, and the man even offered him $200 on one occasion to engage in sexual intercourse, but he refused.

Zimmerman, 41, was arrested on February 1 in Lakeland on eights counts of using children in sexual performances, and according to an U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman, the complaint filed on Monday will be taken to a federal jury.

Zimmerman is a former TV news journalist who later became spokesman for the Florida Department of Children And Families (DCF). As strange as that seems, the man got involved in illegal sexual activities with children, and now faces a minimum of 15 years in jail. He will remain in prison until his trial.

Zimmerman allegedly asked one of the agency’s employees to throw away his computer, so as to erase any evidence that could lead to him prior to his arrest, after he realized he was being the subject of an ongoing investigation. The former child welfare agency official admitted though to being involved in the pornography business when he was arrested on February 1, and said one of the boys in the pictures faked an ID to appear to be 18. 

According to the investigators, this doesn’t appear to be an isolated case for Zimmerman, as other children are believed to have been involved in his illegal activities. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the man took sexually explicit photos of 16-year-old boys in 2006 and 2007, and will be accused of second-degree felony – using a child in sexual activities.