An Orwell photographer pleaded not guilty to one count of possessing child pornography Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Burlington.
A federal grand jury indicted John Penwarden, 55, on the charge, according to a news release from the Justice Department.
He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. The case was assigned to the U.S. District Court in Rutland.
According to the news release, investigators searched Penwarden’s home in December 2014 in response to a report from a 13-year-old New Hampshire girl that he had committed sexual contact offenses against her repeatedly, starting when she was 8 or 9 years old.
The state examiners said they found on Penwarden’s computer and electronic hardware about 75 sexually explicit photos of male and female children of various ages. Fifty of those images were of the girl who had reported Penwarden to the police, according to the affidavit.
The defendant owned Penwarden Photography in Benson, authorities said. He was arrested in May 2015.
