STEUBENVILLE — A Steubenville man has been sentenced to seven to nine years in prison connection with a case in which he allegedly used a phone to share images of a 13-year-old performing sex acts.

Jefferson County Common Pleas Judge Michelle Miller has ordered Kenneth Emerson Shepard, 39, of Steubenville, formerly of Hopedale, to serve four to six years for the charge of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor, 24 months for possession of a weapon under a disability as a convicted person and 12 months for improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle.

Shepard also will be required to register as a sex offender.

The consecutive sentences came following guilty pleas to the three felony charges submitted by Shepard through a plea agreement reached by his attorney, Charles Amato, and assistant Jefferson County prosecuting attorneys George Sarap and Jeff Bruzzese.

The judge ordered that Shepard also be placed on five years of supervised probation following his release from prison.

Charges of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and possession of a fentanyl-related compound, possession of cocaine and aggravated possession of drugs, for which Shepard was indicted by a Jefferson County grand jury in 2024, were dismissed.

Authorities said then Shepard was sexually involved with a child of whom he had made videos performing sexual acts that he shared with his phone.