Jesse S. Ward swore Tuesday that he would never harm a child. He only pretended to be "Toddler Todd" to gather child pornography so he could catch the real bad guys.

The judge didn't believe a word.

U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood sentenced Mr. Ward to the maximum prison sentence, 20 years, and ordered a lifetime of supervision once he is freed.

"I don't for a minute believe you had any good intention," Judge Wood said of Mr. Ward's decision to collect child pornography and send such images out on the Internet.

Judge Wood noted that Mr. Ward had 968 images and 21 videos of children, some only babies, being raped by men -- children who were obviously in pain and crying, and children who were bound and held down.

Mr. Ward, his attorney and family members told the judge there was a completely different side to Mr. Ward, 27.

The Crawfordville, Ga., native graduated at the top of his high school class and volunteered as a firefighter and first responder. He was a law enforcement officer in Crawfordville and Taliaferro County and was a day care worker. He wanted to be a teacher.

He only wanted to help children who were being abused, even if it meant it would cost him his life, Mr. Ward told the judge. He denied any sexual attraction to children.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Wade reminded the judge that the search for "toddlertodd" was a joint international, national, state and local investigation by officers desperate to stop the man before he produced his own photographs for his child pornography contacts.

"All these e-mails, pics and vids are great, but I want more than just that," Mr. Ward wrote in an e-mail. He was excited about his new girlfriend and her daughters, ages 3 years and 9 months.

The woman who had dated Mr. Ward believed he was innocent when he was arrested Oct. 5 in Thomson, she testified Tuesday. But his stories didn't match up, especially the part about innocently taking a picture of her 3-year-old during a diaper change and how her toddler might have been included in a photograph he took of his penis.

For hours she looked through the images from Mr. Ward's collection to see whether her daughters were there. She was sure the girls were in three photographs.

A child services' worker trained to interview children about sexual abuse testified that the 3-year-old said Mr. Ward had touched her private areas.

The federal sentencing guideline range for transportation or shipping of child pornography, which Mr. Ward pleaded guilty to in March, is five years to 20 years in prison.

Judge Wood said she was not including the statement of the 3-year-old in making her decision on punishment. Mr. Ward's crime deserved the maximum penalty, she said.

Reach Sandy Hodson at (706) 823-3226 or sandy.hodson@augustachronicle.com.