PHOENIX — An Arizona man was sentenced Tuesday to spend 10 years behind bars for possession of child pornography, authorities said.

Zachary Zane Stephenson, 45, of Tucson, previously plead guilty to the charge and upon release from prison will be placed on lifetime supervised release with stringent conditions, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona said in a press release on Wednesday.

Stephenson in October 2020 was charged after he was found to be accessing graphic child sexual abuse material on his cellphone, authorities said.

He was also on supervision at the time for a similar prior conviction, authorities said.

Stephenson after being released from prison will also be required to register as a sex offender and complete a sex offender treatment program.

Investigation of the case was conducted by the Tucson unit of Homeland Security.

The case was also part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse online, as well as identify and rescue victims.

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