A Rabun Gap man was sentenced to more than nine years in federal prison this week on charges of receiving child pornography.

Charles R. Van Brackle, 49, was sentenced Monday by Judge William C. O’Kelley in U.S. District Court in Gainesville to 110 months in prison followed by supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. There is no parole in the federal system.

Van Brackle pleaded guilty to the charge in July.

Prosecutors said Van Brackle became a suspect after his name and other identifying information was linked to child pornography investigations in Florida, Pennsylvania and Texas.

In January, agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the FBI searched Van Brackle’s home and recovered a computer that
contained more than 1,000 still images and video of prepubescent children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, prosecutors said.

The case was part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative aimed at protecting children from sexual exploitation.

"The large collection of child pornography that this defendant possessed directly promoted an industry that exploits, molest and degrades children," acting U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said in a statement. "This sentence underscores the harsh consequences for people who possess images of children being sexually exploited."

Gregory Jones, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Atlanta office, said Van Brackle’s extensive collection of child porn "is indicative of an individual who has likely been involved in this exploitative behavior for quite some time.

"We are appreciative of the sentence handed down today and feel that, as a result, the community is a safer place."