A Milwaukee firefighter who fled the state after police found child porn on his tablet at work is back in Wisconsin.

Robert Rutley made his first appearance in federal court.

A grand jury has indicted Robert Rutley on two charges of distributing child pornography and possessing it. Each charge carries up to 20 years in prison, hundreds of thousands in fines and supervised release.

Rutley pleaded not guilty.

The 44 year old sat quietly between his lawyers in a blue prison uniform only speaking when answering questions by the judge.

The FBI executed a search warrant at Fire station 29 where Rutley worked.

Agents said they found more than 1,000 files of child pornography on his tablet.

A criminal complaint states Rutley told authorities he started downloading the images at work because his wife caught him doing it at home.

In federal court, the government said there is 30 documents evidence and more than 2100 images of child porn for its case.

Rutley remains in police custody. His family left the courtroom without talking to the media.

A pre-trial conference has been set for May 10, followed by a trial on May 22.