State police today arrested an Anne Arundel County man on charges of possession and distribution of child pornography.

Paul Joseph Janne III, of Severn, was charged with four counts of distributing child pornography along with eight counts of possessing child pornography, state police said in a news release.

State police began investigating Janne in June 2007 when troopers assigned to the Maryland Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force found a computer on a peer-to-peer network that was offering child pornographic videos for others to download, according to the release. Troopers were able to trace the computer back to Janne.

In December 2007, investigators searched Janne’s Anne Arundel County home and confiscated a computer and other equipment.

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A forensic analysis of the computer by State Police’s Computer Forensics Lab found videos and other images of children performing various sexual acts. Police believe the children depicted were all under the age of 16.

Janne, who turned himself in to the Computer Crimes Unit, faces up to 48 years in prison and 108,000 in fines if he is convicted of the charges against him. A bond hearing is scheduled for later today.