The rape of a child at any age is an abomination, but when the victim is a toddler -- well, let's just say there aren't words in the English language to describe the depths of loathsomeness that reaches.

Consider the case of 27-year-old Jesse S. Ward of Crawfordville, Ga., who has pleaded guilty to some heinous offenses. Augusta-based FBI agents recently said they found nearly 970 child-porn images and 21 pornographic videos in Wards' laptop and home computer last year.

But this wasn't the worst of it. The agents, acting undercover as fellow child-porn creeps, testified that Ward sent them a photograph of an infant about to be raped by an adult male, followed by an e-mail in which he said he soon expected to have his own pictures.

Ward reportedly then told his contacts he was excited that he recently found himself a new girlfriend who had two daughters, ages 3 and 9 months. "All these e-mails, pics and vids are great," he told them, "but I want something more than just that."

It's not hard to know what he wanted more of. It's sickening beyond belief.

It also was horrifying to learn that Ward once had jobs in day care and pre-school programs -- a nightmare for any parent.

The undercover investigation resulted in Ward pleading guilty to transmitting child pornography over the Internet. Let's hope he gets the maximum 20 year sentence -- he deserves every minute of it. We just wish is could be longer.

The undercover team earns accolades for a job well done. With Ward's wireless Internet connections, it was no easy matter tracking this monster down.