A Fresno man was arrested this morning on a federal criminal charge of copyright infringement that alleges he posted the movie “Deadpool” to his Facebook page.

As a result of the illegal upload, more than 5 million people were able to view the film copyrighted by the Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.

            Trevon Maurice Franklin, 21, who used the screen name “Tre-Von M. King,” allegedly uploaded “Deadpool” approximately eight days after its February 2016 release to theaters.

            Franklin is charged in a one-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury on April 7 with reproducing and distributing a copyrighted work, a felony offense that carries a statutory maximum penalty of three years in federal prison.

            An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

            Franklin is expected to make his initial court appearance this afternoon in United States District Court in Fresno.

            The case against Franklin is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

            This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Ryan White and Vicki Chou of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section