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Ramy Mercado, 29, transmitted more than 20 child sex abuse videos and expressed a "desire for sexual encounters with young children," U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
Mercado took a deal from the government rather than risk the potential outcome of a jury trial.
He pleaded guilty to child porn possession, as well as to naturalization fraud, in exchange for leniency at sentencing.
As Sellinger explained it, Mercado obtained United States citizenship last June after signing an application that included his pledge that he hadn't committed a crime for which he hadn't been arrested -- even though he'd trafficked the illegal images within the previous year.
Mercado must serve at least 8½ years of the sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system.
U.S. District Court Judge Claire C. Cecchi also sentenced him to 15 years of supervised release.
Mercado also is expected to go before a federal immigration judge to determine his citizenship status.
Sellinger credited special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark with the investigation leading to the plea and sentence, secured by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Specht of his Opioid Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Unit in Newark.
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