FEURA BUSH — Responding to a noise complaint, Albany County Sheriff’s deputies say they caught a New Scotland resident in the act of viewing child pornography Saturday. The man was later arrested, but the case is one of many that law enforcement have to deal with as the internet’s anonymity and file sharing has brought about new means of obtaining child pornography.

Following up on a complaint of loud music, deputies discovered photographs of nude, underage girls scrolling across a computer screen at the home of William Richmond Moyer, 51, according to a release from the sheriff’s office. A search warrant was then executed by county investigators.

According to Chief Deputy Michael Monteleone, the general appearance of the images of the girls made it obvious to the deputies that they were underage.

“He claimed he had been involved with this kind of activity for several years,” said Monteleone.

Moyer was charged with one count of possessing a sexual performance by a child, and was arraigned in New Scotland Town Court, according the release. He was sent to Albany County’s jail in lieu of $20,000 bail.

Monteleone said it is expected that Moyer will face additional charges following the investigation.

Moyer lived at Feura Bush Senior Housing, which is not far from Feura Bush Park.

According to the release, Moyer is employed at the Rudy A. Ciccotti Family Recreation Center in Colonie, where he teaches swimming lessons for children between the ages of 3 and 15.

According to a statement from Center Director Debra Lambert, Moyer is no longer on the center’s work schedule. Speaking to The Enterprise on Tuesday over the phone, Lambert said Moyer’s employment began late October 2015. In the statement, Lambert said Moyer had passed the center’s screening process upon hiring.

Innocent Images Task Force

The sheriff’s office and an office liaison from the FBI are conducting the ongoing investigation, which could last for several months. They will look into individuals who had been communicating with Moyer, and who were potentially involved with transferring the pornography, according to Monteleone. The investigation will also look into whether any victims were known, and if any victims are local.

The investigators seized several computers, external hard drives, and other digital storage devices, said Monteleone, who later said the other devices may have been thumb drives. It is unclear at this time what Moyer’s sources for the pornography were or if he used any software to keep from being traced.

With new means of distributing pornography, such as online file sharing, and a feeling of anonymity while online, Monteleone said there has been an increase in cases like this one in the Capital District.

“On a regional level, it’s become something that’s come more to our attention,” he said.

The Innocent Images Task Force, an FBI organization tackling child pornography, has been kept busy at the Albany field office, said Monteleone.

Individuals who use file sharing or chat rooms to obtain child pornography may think they’re anonymous, said Monteleone, but even when using software to cover their tracks — such as Tor, which is free software that conceals a user’s location and usage — the FBI has tools to track them.

FBI media spokesperson Amanda Cox says that cases like this could reveal many accomplices or en with charging only one individual.

“Sometimes it’s bigger; sometimes it isn’t,” she said.