An Erie man will spend seven years behind bars on federal charges for child pornography, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday.

Darren Akers, 48, was also sentenced to 10 years supervised release and ordered to pay $18,000 in restitution for violating federal laws related to the sexual exploitation of children.

Akers received and attempted to receive images showing prepubescent minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct on March 9, 2023, according to the indictment.

He also possessed and accessed child sexual abuse material from May 2022 to March 2023, according to information presented to the court.