Creep posted on motherhood websites looking for child porn, had crate of kids' underwear

A man who posted on motherhood blogs looking for videos of children being sexually abused and had a crate of kids’ underwear when police raided his home will spend years in prison.

Colum Patrick Moran Jr., 43, was sentenced to slightly more than five years in federal prison during a court hearing in Florida this week. A federal jury convicted him early this year of attempting to entice minors to produce images and videos depicting child sexual abuse and for possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of children.

Between 2015 and 2018, Moran used the alias “Emily Lover” on the internet and posted comments on numerous motherhood blog websites. The websites are communities where members could share information on motherhood, childcare and family-life topics, according to prosecutors.

Moran posted sexually explicit comments that targeted moms and their young children, according to prosecutors.

He also posted graphic comments requesting the moms post images and videos of their children in sexually explicit conduct, according to prosecutors.

In March 2019, FBI agents and police raided Moran’s Jacksonville apartment and found electronics with more than 1,000 videos and images of child porn. Some of the victims were infants and toddlers, prosecutors noted.

Agents also found a plastic storage bin with 50 pairs of girls’ child-size underwear.

Moran had guns, ammunition and a bulletproof vest with Velcro “law enforcement” identification patches in his apartment, according to prosecutors.