(CNN) A 20-year-old Chinese student was sentenced to a year in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to illegally taking pictures at a key US defense intelligence facility in Florida.

A federal judge in Key West gave Zhao Qianli the maximum sentence after his guilty plea on Tuesday of one count of photographing defense installations.

Zhao's attorney, Hongwei Shang, declined comment to CNN when reached by phone Wednesday evening.

According to court documents, Zhao entered the Joint Interagency Task Force South military property, located on Naval Air Station Key West, on September 26 without permission "by circumnavigating the installation's primary fence line, and entering the military property from the beach."

Upon clearing the base's main fence line, Zhao went directly to an area that contains a range of satellite dishes and antennas called "the Farm," court documents say.

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