SPRINGFIELD — A retired New Jersey police officer was indicted on several child pornography charges Thursday in U.S. District Court in Springfield. 

Bruce Singer, 70, of Southampton, is accused of five counts of distribution of child pornography, one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Boston office.

Singer served on the Paramus Police Department in New Jersey from 1972 to 1999.

The U.S. Attorney’s office accused Singer of distributing and receiving electronic child pornography files between April 2013 and June 2015. The office alleges Singer possessed more than a dozen child pornography files.

If convicted, Singer faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, lifetime supervision and a $250,000 fine for each of the receipt and distribution of child pornography charges. The possession charge carries a maximum 10-year sentence, lifetime supervision and a $250,000 fine.

The prosecution is part of the Project Safe Childhood effort launched by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2006. The effort pools local, state and federal resources to find victims and prosecute those suspected of child exploitation.

Singer was arrested in June 2015 as part of a joint investigation undertaken by the Massachusetts State Police, who worked alongside local authorities in Easthampton and Southampton, according to Northampton District Court documents. Officials investigated people they believed were communicating through Craigslist — a classified advertisements website — about exchanging child pornography, court records show.

In a related case, James J. Smith, 38, of Easthampton, pleaded guilty to distributing child pornography on Feb. 8 in U.S. District Court in Springfield.

Smith pleaded guilty to six counts of distribution of child pornography, one count of transportation of child pornography, one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of child pornography. Smith’s sentencing is scheduled for May 4, 2017. 

If the court accepts the plea agreement, Smith will be sentenced to between 120 months and 151 months in prison and 10 years of supervised release.

Before the cases were moved to federal court, both Singer and Smith denied child pornography charges on Sept. 21, 2015 in Hampshire County Superior Court.

This article has been updated.

Jack Suntrup can be reached at jsuntrup@gazettenet.com. Caitlin Ashworth can be reached at cashworth@gazettenet.com.