John J. Tulip, a resident of Palm Coast in northeastern Florida, was arrested Wednesday night in a motel in Brunswick, Ga., after a six-month investigation by ICE and the Dusseldorf State police in Germany.

Details on how the Dusseldorf police were involved in the case were not available Thursday.

The indictment charges that Tulip, a U.S. citizen, transported the child, identified in court documents only as F.S., within the U.S. and abroad numerous times from 2000 to 2003 to have sex with him. The age of the child was not released.

Tulip also allegedly induced the child to engage in sexual acts and acted as a legal guardian allowing the child to have sex to create pornography. The visual depictions were also transported to foreign countries and domestically. Tulip has been charged with moving the pornography by computer.

If convicted, Tulip faces sentences ranging from a minimum-mandatory five years in prison up to 185 years, and a possible fine of $3 million.

Barbara Gonzalez, ICE spokeswoman in Miami, said the arrest was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide crackdown on pedophiles and predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors or use the Internet for child porn.

Since the operation was launched in July 2003, more than 5,800 people have been arrested nationwide.

Tulip will be appearing before Magistrate Judge Monte C. Richardson on Monday in Jacksonville for his detention hearing.

Although Tulip was never arrested while living in Palm Coast, St. John's County Sheriff's deputies said they had records of having "had contact" with Tulip. They would not give any details.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald T. Henry in Jacksonville will prosecute the case. Telephone messages left for his spokesman were not returned.

AP-ES-05-12-05 2142EDT