COEUR d’ALENE — A man accused of downloading child pornography will face a jury trial in October.

Matthew G. Barszcz, 26, of Coeur d’Alene, pleaded not guilty last week to five counts of sexual exploitation of a child by distribution of sexually explicit material, all felonies.

In Idaho, sexual exploitation of a child is a felony punishable by a maximum of 30 years in prison.

The charges stem from July 2020, when detectives with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force searched for people in possession and distributing images of child sexual abuse via BitTorrent, a peer-to-peer file sharing network.

Police reportedly found a device containing multiple files that were previously identified as being of interest to child pornography investigations.

Using the IP address associated with the device, police determined it was located at the Coeur d’Alene residence where Barszcz lived.

When contacted by police, Barszcz said he searched for and downloaded the material in order to report it.

He also told police he knew it was illegal to possess images of child sexual abuse but found the images “intriguing,” according to court documents.

Barszcz reportedly said he was a follower of QAnon, a disproven conspiracy theory alleging that a secret cabal of Satan-worshipping, cannibalistic pedophiles is running a global child sex-trafficking ring.

Police seized several electronic devices belonging to Barszcz as evidence.

A forensic examination of the devices reportedly yielded multiple videos that showed naked children, as well as videos of children being sexually abused by adults, among other content.

The content was downloaded between June and October 2020, according to court documents.

A judge issued a warrant for Barszcz’s arrest on March 11.

Barszcz reportedly turned himself in the following day and later posted $200,000 bail.

A three-day jury trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 3.