Thomas Romspert of Butler is charged with creating and distributing illicit images of a child.

A Butler man charged last year by local authorities for allegedly filming a minor performing sexual acts now faces similar charges in federal court, according to court records filed Tuesday.

In November, Thomas P. Romspert, 29, was charged in Butler County with five felony counts related to the alleged exploitation of a 16-year-old girl.

The alleged crimes occurred between May and Oct. 24.

On Tuesday, the federal government filed a grand jury indictment accusing Romspert of coercing a minor into performing “sexually explicit conduct” for the purpose of filming it and distributing it through electronic devices such as a computer, according to the indictment.

In the original county charges, police said that on Oct. 28, authorities received a ChildLine report about the possible exploitation of the victim. State agents spoke to the girl, who told them that she met Romspert through a mutual friend, according to charging documents, and began taking “photos and video (of her) engaging in sex acts.”

For the local case, Romspert was formally arraigned Jan. 26 on four felony counts of photographing, videotaping, depicting on a computer or filming sexual acts and one count of criminal use of a communication facility. Romspert is in the Butler County Prison on $75,000 bond.

Federal prosecutors didn't return a request for comment to explain why they chose to charge him in federal court. Romspert does not have a listed attorney. In the local case, his attorney could not be reached for comment.

This is a breaking news report — read the full article in Sunday's Butler Eagle.