WORCESTER - The U.S. Department of Justice announced yesterday that a federal judge sentenced a local man for child pornography charges on May 17.
Michael Irons, 46, of Gardner, pleaded guilt to one count of possession of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography. Federal District Court Judge Mark Mastroianni sentenced Irons to 10 years in prison.
According to federal prosecutors, a search of Iron's home in July 2020 led to the discovery of two cell phones that contained around 500 videos and 1,000 images of child pornography.
Prosecutors also say that Irons used Kik Messenger to distribute the content and Snapchat to solicit content from minors.
Along with 10 years in federal prison, the judge also sentenced Irons to five years of supervised release.