SYRACUSE, NY (607NewsNow) — A Waverly man will spend over a decade behind bars.

23-year-old Tristan Kovacs was sentenced Tuesday in a Syracuse courtroom to 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to sexual exploitation a child and transportation of child pornography.

Prosecutors say Kovacs took a sexually explicit photo of himself with a 10-year-old girl in April 2025, then uploaded it online.

“The defendant’s conduct in this case, which included his victimization of a vulnerable 10-year-old child, is abhorrent and the significant sentence imposed is just punishment for that level of depravity,” Assistant US Attorney John Sarcone said. “Over the next three decades, the defendant will either be incarcerated or under strict supervision which will help to ensure that he is never again in a position to harm another child.”

Kovacs must also register as a sex offender.