Hartford ― A Sprague man who was convicted of a child sex crime in 2016 and is being held in state prison on a $1 million bond on a violation of probation charge is now facing federal charges.

Gregory Butts, 51, was charged Friday at the U.S. District Court in Hartford with possession of child pornography, attempted coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity, and making an interstate threat to injure.

A news release from the office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut said Butts could be facing 25 years to life in prison if convicted, based on minimum and maximum sentencing standards as well as his criminal history.

Butts has been held by the state Department of Correction since March, when he was arrested by state police and charged with voyeurism with malice. He was convicted in 2016 of illegal sexual contact with a child under the age of 16 and sentenced to 15 years of probation with the State of Connecticut Office of Adult Probation in 2018.

The investigations stemmed from a 2020 case in Colorado, where Butts is alleged to have responded to a social media plea for information about two missing youths. The release said Butts called the phone number provided by family members and friends looking for information. That’s when he spoke with one female friend of the kids, informing her that he was with them and had had sexual contact with them. The call was recorded.

The federal complaint alleges Butts threatened to harm the missing juveniles if the phone conversation were recorded or if law enforcement were contacted. He then said he would return the missing juveniles if the female friend would have sex with him.

But the release said the juveniles returned home shortly after they were reported missing, not harmed and never having been kidnapped. Butts’ phone call was traced back to Sprague, where federal investigators identified him as a registered sex offender and his probation officers identified him as the voice on the phone.

Evidence from a search by state probation officers of two residences where Butts had been staying revealed multiple electronic devices and thousands of images and videos of child pornography, according to the release.

The complaint also alleges that a search of the seized items revealed downloaded conversations Butts had on Snapchat with minors. Butts engaged in sexually explicit conversations, made numerous threats and demanded, and sometimes received, sexually explicit photos, the release said.

According to documents in the state voyeurism case, the probation officers’ search yielded several smartphones and handwritten notes listing usernames pertaining to females as young as 13 years old.

After seizing and reviewing some of the devices, police found that one of the smartphones contained nude images and videos of a young adult female, seemingly taken without her knowledge, while she was getting in and out of the shower. The female was later identified as Butts' neighbor. Police said it appeared the videos were created while he was standing on the rear deck of the victim's residence.

In an interview with police, the victim confirmed she never consented to being photographed or recorded and that Butts was not permitted on her property.

The federal case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in New Haven and Loveland, Colorado, with the assistance of the Connecticut Office of Adult Probation, Connecticut State Police and the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory.

Butts remains incarcerated at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield, according to the state Department of Correction.