Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger will not prosecute the son of the county's president judge, referring the case to the state Attorney General's Office.

John Paul Doerr III, 31, faces child pornography charges after admitting he downloaded child pornography videos onto his home computer last year, authorities said. He is the son of President Judge Thomas Doerr.

While the criminal case against John Doerr will be referred to the state, the proceedings will still take place in Butler County.

“It's completely because he's the judge's son,” Goldinger said about his decision to remove his office from the case. “I've known (Judge Doerr) for almost 25 years. I worked directly with him in the courtroom, and I just don't think it's appropriate for my office to be prosecuting it.”

State police arrested John Doerr on Jan. 16 after an undercover investigation into the Internet sharing of child pornography, according to court documents.

He was arraigned on six counts of dissemination of photographs, videotapes, computer depictions and films depicting children engaged in sex acts, 35 counts of possession of child pornography, and one count of criminal use of a communication facility, all felonies.

Investigators first went online to identify those sharing and possessing child pornography using the BitTorrent file-sharing network. Out of that investigation, they executed a search warrant of the defendant's home on Oct. 16.

Police seized a computer tower belonging to John Doerr during the search. They interviewed him that same day and he “confessed to downloading multiple child pornography videos” onto the computer, according to a police affidavit.

John Doerr was released with no bail after his preliminary arraignment.

His next court appearance is scheduled for March 12 with Judge William Shaffer. It's unclear if Shaffer will also recuse himself, but Goldinger said, “I can't imagine any of our judges hearing that one.”