Michael Sarbaum, 49, of Moorhead was sentenced Wednesday to serve 18 years in prison for receiving and distributing child pornography.
The federal statutory maximum Sarbaum could have been charged with is 20 years.
Sarbaum possessed 115 videos and 45 photographs depicting various "egregious" sexual acts between adults and children, some as young as 2 years old, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Klemetsrud Puhl said during the sentencing hearing.
Some of the files were stored using a shared folder in file-sharing software, which gave others access to them, Puhl said.
Sarbaum's criminal record includes a 10-year string of burglary crimes and seven years in prison. Having such a "lengthy" criminal history is unusual in child porn cases, Puhl said.
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Because of the nature of Sarbaum's offense and his criminal history, U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson handed down the 18-year sentence. Sarbaum will be on supervised release for the rest of his life after he leaves prison.
Defense attorney Richard Henderson requested a prison sentence of 10 to 15 years for Sarbaum because of the struggles he said Sarbaum overcame during his life.
Sarbaum previously told officials that he had been sexually abused as a young teenager. That, and a history of alcohol abuse, were likely factors that led to Sarbaum's interest in child porn, Henderson told the court.
However, Erickson said any prison sentence less than 17 years would not emphasize the "tremendous harm inflicted."
"All child pornography cases are serious and involve indirectly the victimization of children and deal with an insensitivity and lack of empathy for some of the most vulnerable members of our society," Erickson said prior to handing down the sentence.
Sarbaum also cannot have access to a computer or the Internet.
