A Leawood man accused of making kinky phone calls to high school athletes in Lawrence and elsewhere in the Midwest under the guise of a college sports recruiter has been charged in federal court with possessing child pornography.

Investigators searched the Leawood home of James Riccardi, 42, in May and found child pornography on his computer, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Kansas said.

Riccardi made his first appearance Tuesday before federal Magistrate Judge David Waxse in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan.

The mother of a Lawrence High School athlete who received one of the calls in December said she was relieved and surprised the case was proceeding so quickly.

“The system works,” said the woman, who asked not to be identified. “I’m glad somebody like that is off the street. Hopefully, it will be a long time before he’s able to do something like that again.”

Authorities tracked Riccardi through phone calls he is accused of making  phone calls during which he allegedly asked young men to spank themselves or acquaintances. Calls received by three high school wrestlers in Higginsville, Mo., about 50 miles east of Kansas City, led authorities to charge Riccardi with two misdemeanor counts of endangering a child and three misdemeanor counts of harassment in Lafayette County (Mo.) Circuit Court. The wrestlers said the man who called told them he was a recruiter from the University of Missouri.

In Lawrence, police investigated at least a dozen similar calls to athletes at LHS and Free State high schools. In at least one of those cases, the caller posed as a Texas A&M University recruiter and asked the athlete to spank his younger brother.

Investigators are looking into similar phone calls made to students in Iowa, Nebraska and Texas. Investigators said Riccardi had been making such phone calls for the “past several years.”

If convicted, Riccardi faces a maximum of five years in federal prison, without parole. Leawood Police and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case, which is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Atty. Kim Berger.

Investigators are attempting to identify additional victims in the case. Anyone with information is asked to call Leawood Police Det. John Dickey at (913) 642-5555, ext. 215.