A father in California's Central Valley region,Benjamin Ashford who is accused of allowing his teen daughter to sell her nude photos online, has been arrested after a three-month investigation, authorities said.

The man was not initially the target of El Dorado County Sheriff's Office investigators when they began looking into the 16-year-old girl's online activities in August. The girl "had a very well known online presence on a variety of social media platforms," the sheriff's office said Tuesday in a media release.

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Detectives reported discovering that the teen had been selling naked photos of herself online, netting about $40,000 in profit, the sheriff's office said.

As the investigation continued, investigators learned that the girl's father was not only aware of her explicit transactions, but was allegedly sharing in the profit. The man was arrested Nov. 15 and charged with sex trafficking, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and child abuse, the sheriff's office said.

USA TODAY is not naming the man because it could identify his daughter, who is a minor.

It is not clear if the teen is facing any juvenile charges.

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Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]