A Mount Airy man pleaded guilty Friday to coercing a child to engage in sexually explicit conduct captured by a webcam.

Gregory Hunter, 50, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Gainesville and faces up to 30 years in prison when he is sentenced at a later date by Judge Richard Story.

Patrick Crosby, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, said a search warrant was carried out on Feb. 3, 2009 at Hunter's home.

Hunter admitted that he communicated over the Internet with a man in California, who offered to have his 9-year-old stepdaughter pose for him on a webcam. Hunter and the stepfather conspired to have the girl perform sexually explicit acts over the webcam, Crosby said.

The stepfather, who was not identified by the U.S. Attorney's office in order to protect the identity of the victim, was sentenced in a federal court in California to 30 years in prison for producing, transporting and possessing child pornography.

Hunter remains in custody pending sentencing.