OGDENSBURG -- A former Ogdensburg detective facing child pornography charges has now been indicted by the U.S. Attorneys Office.

He has spent several months in Franklin County jail and retired from the Ogdensburg police force while behind bars.

McCarthy has appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Gary L. Favro and was detained pending further proceedings.

If convicted of all charges, McCarthy faces at least 15 years and up to 30 years in prison for each charge of child exploitation, and at least five years and up to 20 years for each charge of distributing, receiving, and transporting child pornography.

If convicted, McCarthy would also face mandatory, post-imprisonment supervised release of at least five years and up to life, and would be required to register as a sex offender. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

According to the indictment, in 2013 and 2014, McCarthy induced a 13-year-old child to engage in sexually explicit conduct and recorded images of it, the announcement from the U/S. Attorney’s Office said.

The charges in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty, the announcement of the indictment notes.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York State Police, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Kopita.

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Andrew W. Vale, and New York State Police Superintendent George P. Beach II.

This case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.