One of two brothers who stockpiled thousands of files of child pornography at their Englewood home, according to police, was sentenced to 22 years in prison for sexual exploitation of children.

Possessing child pornography qualifies as sexual exploitation, under state statute.

“You have the victimization every time these are shared or downloaded,” said Judge Andrew Baum for the Arapahoe County District Court at the Feb. 25 sentencing hearing.

Timothy and Daniel Alberts were jailed on sexual-exploitation charges in 2018. Timothy Alberts faced 13 counts related to child sexual exploitation, one of which accused him of being a habitual sex offender against children.

As part of a plea agreement on Dec. 20, Timothy Alberts, 62, pleaded guilty to the top two counts — related to possessing sexually exploitative material of a child — and the prosecution agreed to dismiss the other 11 counts, according to the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office. Timothy Alberts agreed to testify against his brother as part of the plea agreement.

Timothy Alberts' sentence includes 22 years in prison and five years of mandatory parole.

Detective Brian Taylor of Englewood police testified in a previous hearing, describing the Alberts' residence at 3951 S. Washington St. as dirty, infested with vermin and containing around 20,000 files of child pornography.

According to Englewood police, a report of a woman screaming eventually led officers to the home at about 7 a.m. April 14. A 32-year-old woman told officers she had been contacted by another woman, 39, who had blood on her arm and who had run back to that address.

The second woman said she had been assaulted and had locked the suspects up in a shed for police to contact. In the backyard of the house, officers found a padlocked shed, forced their way in and found three men living inside.

The three men found in the shed were not the Alberts brothers or their father, said Scot Allen, spokesman for Englewood police, in April. The 39-year-old woman was not locked in the shed, Allen said. Police investigated but determined there was no assault, Chad Read, another police spokesman, said June 20.

Officers contacted Timothy Alberts inside the residence and Daniel Alberts, now 66, outside it. Also inside the residence was their father, Gerald Alberts, now 92. The Englewood Building Division condemned the residence, which officers believed was uninhabitable. Alberts' home sits half a block away from The Englewood Campus, which houses Englewood High School and the district's two middle schools.

Police had executed a search warrant on the house on April 14 and 15. At the June hearing, Taylor said images seen on Alberts' equipment showed children engaged in sexual acts with children and adults.

A framework of a computer tower and hard drives, along with several dozen CDs and DVDs, contained the pornography, Taylor said. In all the files, the brothers held likely more than 100,000 items of child pornography, he added. Computers were hooked up to a TV, Taylor said.

He has a conviction from 1982 in Boulder County for sexual assault on a child, Taylor said. At the Feb. 25 sentencing hearing, Baum noted Alberts had another sexual assault case in Adams County in the 1980s.

“He was abused by his older brother from age 6 to 12; he told his parents, but they didn't do anything,” Baum said in summarizing details the court had about Alberts. He has a “history of unaddressed trauma that may be related to his problematic sexual interests.”

It was unclear if Baum's mention of the older brother was a reference to Daniel Alberts.

Timothy Alberts volunteered at a food bank and a local homeless-resource center, said Alaina Almond, his defense attorney.

“I can tell the court he is very ashamed of his actions,” Almond said. “Mr. Alberts was a victim of sexual abuse. Certainly, Mr. Alberts doesn't think that's an excuse.”

Daniel Alberts also faces 13 counts related to sexual exploitation of children and has a motions hearing March 29. His trial is set to begin July 31.