ANN ARBOR (WWJ/AP) - A former University of Michigan pediatrician who persuaded young girls to produce child pornography is headed to prison.

Mark Hoeltzel, 47, was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in federal prison, three months after he pleaded guilty to online enticement of a minor.

The U.S. attorney's office says Hoeltzel created a Facebook account for a fictitious boy and used the persona to chat online with minor girls across the United States. During the conversations, investigators say Hoeltzel was able to convince the minor girls to produce child pornography.

Hoeltzel was arrested in February after being treated for sex addiction.

State regulators had suspended Hoeltzel's pediatric rheumatology specialist's license in December 2017. He practiced at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, before going to the University of Michigan in 2013.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.