A Franklin man who has been indicted on multiple counts related to child sexual exploitation reportedly defined himself to police as a pedophile and acknowledged having thousands of files of illicit material on his phone.

Joseph N. Roush, 27, was arraigned Thursday in U.S. District Court on a federal indictment charging him with one count each of distribution of child pornography, possession of child pornography and sexual exploitation of children.

Roush appeared before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Brent Brennenstuhl with his attorney, Tyler Hitch, who entered a not guilty plea on Roush’s behalf.

Roush was booked into Warren County Regional Jail on Feb. 25 after an investigation was opened by the Simpson County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

According to a federal criminal complaint filed last month, a DHS special agent reported receiving a tip on Dec. 16 regarding an image of child sexual abuse material being uploaded onto WhatsApp.

The agent reviewed the material and, through investigation, was able to link the image to a WhatsApp account belonging to Roush, court records show.

Homeland Security and Simpson County Sheriff’s Office officers executed a search warrant at Roush’s Franklin apartment on Feb. 13, seizing two phones.

According to the criminal complaint, Roush later acknowledged that he attempted to destroy one of his phones by throwing it into the water tank of his toilet after hearing a knock at his door and law enforcing announce themselves.

“Roush said he attempted to destroy it because it had multiple files of child pornography on it,” the criminal complaint stated. “Multiple electronic devices and items containing data were seized during the search warrant.”

After being advised of his rights, Roush agreed to be interviewed by police, and during the interview “Roush defined himself as a pedophile,” the complaint said.

Roush reportedly recognized an uploaded image of illicit material that police gathered during its investigation, admitting to officers that he distributed the image multiple times on WhatsApp and other online platforms in October, records show.

“Roush admitted to having thousands of files of child pornography,” the complaint said.

A forensic review of electronic devices police collected from Roush’s apartment turned up evidence suggesting that he produced video clips at his apartment featuring sexually exploited children, according to the complaint.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky said the statutory penalty range for the crimes charged against Roush is 15-70 years in prison.

A telephonic pretrial conference with U.S. District Court Chief Judge Greg Stivers has been set for April 24.