The U.S. Attorney's office says David Vernon Tank, formerly of Wheaton, Roselle and Bloomingdale, admitted producing images of a girl he babysat, starting when she was 6. It says video and pictures of him abusing her have been found on computers of suspects nationwide.
After his 2009 arrest, nearly 6,000 images and 350 videos of child pornography were found on his computers.
U.S. District Judge Joan Gottschall on Wednesday sentenced the 49-year-old.
Tank was convicted in California in 2001 of conspiracy to sexually exploit children. After his release from prison in 2005 he moved to Illinois, where he registered as a convicted sex offender.
A telephone message left for Tank's public defender wasn't immediately returned Thursday.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
