HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — The Department of Justice announced that a Lebanon man was sentenced on Thursday, April 27 for sexually exploiting a child.

According to US Attorney Gerard M Karam, 36-year-old Michael Rankin previously admitted to sexually assaulting a young girl in the summer of 2021, as well as taking pictures of the assault.

Attorney Karam says Rankin admitted that he possessed hundreds of images or videos of child pornography, some of which depicted infants and very young children.

Because of this, US District Court Judge Christopher C. Conner sentenced Rankin to 20 years imprisonment. The Court also ordered a 15-year term of supervised release to follow the term of imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the Pennsylvania State Police and Homeland Security Investigations.