CEDAR RAPIDS - An Evansdale man has pleaded guilty to transportation of child pornography and possession of a firearm as a felon.

Michael D. Sampson Jr., 37, pleaded guilty to the charges Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids. A sentencing date has not been set, but Sampson faces up to 40 years in prison and a fine.

At a plea hearing before Judge Linda R. Reade, Sampson admitted that, in the first quarter of 2008, he transported over the Internet a visual depiction of a minor engaged in a sexually explicit act. He also admitted that on March 25, 2008, he possessed a firearm after having been convicted of a felony - an Illinois offense of indecent solicitation of a child.

The case was investigated by the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office, the St. Louis Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.