SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) - A 41-year-old former Nixa firefighter has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for possessing child pornography on his computer.
Prosecutors said in a news release that Michael Keith Benson also was ordered Tuesday to spend the rest of his life on supervised release after he serves his prison term.
Benson pleaded guilty in July to receiving child porn. Under the plea agreement, he also pleaded guilty to state charges of child molestation, statutory sodomy and sexual exploitation of a child.
Prosecutors say Benson admitted using a file-sharing program to download a video of child pornography from the Internet in January 2009. Investigators found more than 600 images of child porn, including pictures of children under the age of 12, in addition to pictures of a minor with whom he had contact.