ST. LOUIS – A federal judge has sentenced a Clayton, Missouri, man to 11 years in prison after he posed as a girl online to obtain nude photos of minors.

Jason W. Fine, 50, was also ordered to pay a $50,000 fine and special assessments of $45,000 that will go into a fund for victims and prevention programs. He pleaded guilty last November to two felonies, soliciting child pornography and receiving child pornography.

According to his plea, Fine admitted that he pretended to be an 11-year-old girl on Kik Messenger, then requested and received nude pictures of the 11-year-old girl from Kentucky. This happened between July 1 and Sept. 2, 2021.

In an interview with law enforcement last year, Fine said he had communicated online with multiple minors online and a few had sent him child pornography.

The victim’s mother, in Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, said it was “absolute devastation” when they learned Fine had obtained photos of his daughter because he posed as a girl.

“Knowing he is behind bars ensures that he can’t take advantage of young girls. He can’t prey upon them and use them as toys. He can’t manipulate them, solicit or use them,” the mother wrote in a letter to a federal judge.

A federal prosecutor said that Fine used his undergraduate degree in psychology to manipulate children into sending him pictures and videos, adding that he did not assist law enforcement in identifying his other victims. U.S. District Judge Ronnie L. White called Fine’s case the worst case of its type that he’d encountered.

The St. Louis County Police Department, the Campbell County (Kentucky) Police Department, and the FBI all assisted with the investigation.