STEUBENVILLE — A Steubenville man has been sentenced to seven to nine years in prison connection with a case in which he allegedly used a phone to share images of a 13-year-old performing sex acts.

Jefferson County Common Pleas Judge Michelle Miller has ordered Kenneth Emerson Shepard, 39, of Steubenville, formerly of Hopedale, to serve four to six years for the charge of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor, 24 months for possession of a weapon under a disability as a convicted person and 12 months for improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle.

Shepard also will be required to register as a sex offender.