Facebook tipped police to Stevens Point man's photos of sex with a child. Now he's going to prison for 18 years.

MADISON - A Stevens Point man who twice videotaped having sex with a child was sentenced Thursday in federal court to 18 years in prison followed by 25 years on supervised release.

Nicholas Kvatek, 41, had an ongoing sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl before he videoed it in January 2019, according to court records.

He was arrested in April after Facebook tipped local authorities to sexually explicit photos of a minor on Kvatek’s homepage that were posted by the child victim, said Kelly Welsh, Kvatek’s attorney.

A search warrant executed by Stevens Point police and Portage County Sheriff’s Office at Kvatek’s residence recovered a cellphone with about 800 sexually explicit photos of minors and the two videos Kvatek made.

He pleaded guilty in November to production of child pornography and faced a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Altman asked District Judge William Conley to impose an 18-year sentence, saying the images of children as young as 3 years old and the sadomasochistic depictions of other young children “may be even more concerning.” Kvatek also hasn’t realized the impact of his crime on others, she said.

RELATED: Stevens Point man pleads guilty after Facebook photos tip

“He expressed more remorse for losing his job than the harm he caused the minor victim,” Altman said.

Welsh argued for a 15-year term, saying that amount of time offered substantial punishment and protection for society. Kvatek isn’t the “the worst of the worst offenders,” Welsh said, as he didn’t post images on the web or share them.

When Welsh mentioned that Kvatek’s victim was already harmed in an unspecified way, before he met her, Conley cut her short.

“So, he’s a sex predator who identifies a damaged girl and manipulates and exploits that for himself. … I don’t think that mitigates his conduct,” Conley said.

Kvatek apologized to his victim and said he “regrets everything that happened.”

Referring to the photos, Conley asked Kvatek how he will address his interest in deviant sexual behavior.

“The schooling and programs I get (in prison) can help me when I’m released,” he replied.

Conley said he also was concerned with the “disturbing” images found on Kvatek’s phone, his addiction to alcohol and methamphetamine and the fact Kvatek might have been sexually abused as a minor.

“And now you’re taking it out on others,” Conley said.

“I don’t think you appreciate your conduct and how far you’ve fallen in order to be here today,” the judge told Kvatek, who faced a maximum 30-year sentence.

Conley allowed Kvatek to serve his federal sentence concurrent to any sentence he receives in a child sex assault charge pending in Portage County because it involves the same conduct.