MILAN, Mich. – A New York man convicted of heading up a child pornography ring was beaten and stabbed to death by fellow inmates in a Michigan correctional facility, officials confirmed.

Christian Maire was identified as the deceased inmate. According to reports, Maire was recently sentenced to 40 years in prison following a conviction of child pornography charges.

Officials say that on Wednesday, Maire was involved in an “altercation” with seven other inmates at Milan Detention Center.

The Detroit News reported that the autopsy found that Maire was stabbed and struck in the head repeatedly.

Very few details have been publicized about the fight, but authorities did say that Maire’s death was being investigated as a homicide. Three other inmates were treated for serious injuries stemming from the scrap and two staff members reported minor injuries as well.

Maire was recently sentenced to the 40-year punishment by a U.S. District Court in Detroit. Prosecutors said he was the “mastermind” of an “egregious crime syndicate” that coerced vulnerable girls to engage in sexual activity on a website. Maire pleaded guilty to the charges he was accused of.

“They hunted girls. They lied to girls. They manipulated girls. … And they did so repeatedly, for years, victimizing more than 100 girls, only a fraction of whom have been positively identified,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Mulcahy said in a court filing.

Maire reportedly denied being the ringleader yet confessed to the court that he had “shattered so many lives.”

“I never thought I could sink this low. I apologize to all of my victims,” Maire said.

WISH 8 TV reported that men are usually housed at the Milan detention center while awaiting trial, sentencing or a permanent prison assignment after being sentenced in federal court. It’s on the grounds of the low-security Milan federal prison, they noted.

Christian Maire was from Binghamton, New York. He was 40-years-old.

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