NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Police said a Nashville man was running what they said is the biggest child pornography operation they've ever seen.

Video: Man Faces Child Porn Charge

"Most persons would just be horrified by these images," said Don Aaron, Metro police spokesman.

Right now, Jason Pate is charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a minor.

Police said the registered sex offender received hundreds of thousands of messages and sent them all over the United States, possibly the world.

Aaron said police found "still pictures, activity pictures, films (and) also erotic stories involving children."

The investigation into Pate began last Wednesday after a tip from a concerned citizen. Police obtained a search warrant for his north Nashville home on Rainwood Drive and found an elaborate setup, including two laptop computers linked to a computer tower with internal and external hard drives, acting as a server, they said.

Neighbor Adrian Avant said he rarely sees the suspect.

Authorities feared the 34-year-old was planning to disappear, as he quit his computer software development job the day after they served the search warrant.

Police arrested him Friday, charging him with one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, though more charges will likely come. It may end up as a federal case due to alleged distribution across state lines and an old child porn conviction in Michigan.

Pate has a wife and baby, though there is no evidence his child was involved in the recovered material.

So far, he hasn't said a word to police. No one at his home wanted to speak, either.

Sorting through the material is expected to take several weeks.

It is unclear if Pate was making money off of his child pornography operation. He is being held on a $250,000 bond.