A British citizen in federal custody here for 17 months on charges of producing and possessing child pornography must remain in detention while the government appeals a judge's decision to suppress the evidence in the case.

Simon McCarty was arrested Aug. 5, 2008, after Transportation Security Administration screeners at Hilo Airport found photographs in his luggage which they believed depicted child pornography.

A later search of McCarty's laptop computer showed it contained a large cache of child pornography, including videos showing McCarty engaged in sexual acts with pre-pubescent boys.

Federal District Judge J. Michael Seabright ruled last month that because testimony from the TSA screeners about the search was contradictory and "not credible," he ordered suppression of all the photographs as well as the subsequently discovered contents of McCarty's laptop.

The U.S. Attorney's Office is appealing that ruling.

McCarty's lawyer, William Harrison, then filed a motion for his client to be released from custody, arguing yesterday that his client will be deported back to the United Kingdom where he will be facing criminal charges by the British government.

According to documents filed by federal prosecutors here, British authorities have identified two of the boys in the videos as British citizens and said they were approximately 10 years old when the videos were made in 2006-2007.

The third boy is believed to be Nepalese. McCarty has helped found an orphanage in Nepal.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence Tong argued against McCarty's release pending the outcome of the evidence suppression appeal.

"While the ultimate admissibility of the evidence is questionable, there is no doubt that the defendant poses a danger to the community," Tong argued.

McCarty "traveled with photographs of naked children and videos of him engaging in sex with minor boys," Tong said.

"All of this points to the unmistakable conclusion that (the) defendant has a sexual interest in children, has repeatedly acted out on his impulses, and carries trophies of his encounters for his personal gratification," Tong argued in court documents.

Harrison said McCarty wants to address the legal issues against him in the United Kingdom while the appeal is pending here.

He will not be a danger to the community or a flight risk because "he's going to be picked up" by British authorities when he arrives there, Harrison said.

But Seabright said he has no idea how British authorities would treat McCarty.

"We don't know what will happen in the U.K.," Seabright said.

He ordered McCarty's continued detention.

"The charges are pretty horrific," the judge said, noting that McCarty "is not a U.S. citizen and has no ties to the community."