March 7 (Reuters) - A man accused of victimizing dozens

of minors as the leading purveyor of child sexual abuse material

on the "dark web" between 2018 and 2021 was convicted on

Thursday of multiple counts of child pornography and

exploitation by a federal court jury in Nevada.

James Patrick Burns, 55, of Sparks, Nevada, who was already

a registered sex offender, faces a prison term of 25 years to

life when he is sentenced on June 10, the U.S. Attorney's Office

in Nevada said in announcing the conviction.

According to court documents and trial evidence, Burns used

threats to coerce children into producing pornographic imagery

and then posted this material to "dark web" forums carried by

such online platforms as Omegle, Snapchat, Tiktok and Mega.NZ.

At the time of these offenses, between 2018 and 2021, Burns

"was the most prolific creator of illegal content on these

forums," the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

A federal court jury in Reno found him guilty on eight

counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, eight counts of

coercion and enticement of a minor and one count each of

advertising, receiving, distributing and possessing child

pornography.

Prosecutors said Burns' child victims numbered more than

100, many of whom have yet to be identified.

His role in the online child porn world came to the

attention of law enforcement when a mother of one of his victims

noticed threats on her child's cellphone and reported what she

had seen to police.

In a separate trial, Burns was also convicted of committing

various offenses while required to register as a sex offender.

The case was investigated by an FBI-led task force that

included local police and sheriff's detectives and received

assistance from law enforcement around the country, prosecutors

said.