DANVILLE, Ill. (WCIA) — Gilberto Sanchez, formerly of Danville, has been sentenced after admitting to receiving and sending child pornography.

On Nov. 2, Sanchez pled guilty in court to one count of child pornography charge. He was sentenced to 8 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for the class X felony. Sanchez will then serve 3 years of mandatory supervised release after his prison sentence is complete.

A cyber tip was sent to the Illinois State Police regarding child pornography, prompting an investigation into Sanchez. Agents conducted an interview, where Sanchez told them he had received child pornography, but immediately deleted the images. After consenting to a search, agents found several images of child pornography on his phone, including images of children under the age of 13. Sanchez then admitted that he regularly receives and sends child pornography.

Vermilion County State’s Attorney Jacqueline Lacy thanked the Illinois State Police for their thorough and proactive investigation.

“Although this defendant was not suspected of having physical contact with the children depicted in the images, his actions in receiving and sending pornographic images to others, encourages horrendous acts of sexual violence against children,” Lacy said. “My office will persist in our efforts with law enforcement to hold these offenders responsible.”