YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio man accused by authorities of attending Little League World Series games and other events to meet boys he later persuaded online to send him explicit photos of themselves was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison.

Cody Swinnerton, 25, of Berea, was sentenced Wednesday in Youngstown. He pleaded guilty in September to multiple counts of sexual exploitation of children and possession of child pornography.

Defense attorney Gregory Robey said Thursday that he and Swinnerton were disappointed with the sentence and planned to appeal.

Swinnerton took photos of athletes at events like the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Cleveland. He later contacted the boys online, congratulated them and sent them photos he had taken, authorities said.

ADVERTISEMENT

Swinnerton simultaneously contacted the boys using a female persona and persuaded them to send him explicit photos, according to authorities.

Swinnerton was accused of befriending a boy in New York and recording sexual assaults of the boy as he slept and of secretly recording sexually explicit videos of a boy in Australia while vacationing there, authorities said.

Hundreds of sexually explicit photos of preteen and teenage boys were found on Swinnerton’s laptop.