A Tamaqua man pleaded guilty Wednesday in Schuylkill County court to disseminating child pornography.

Judge John E. Domalakes sentenced Kyle L. Bauer, 23, to 12 to 24 months in state prison, followed by five years of probation.He also ordered Bauer to under a sexual offender evaluation in order to determine if he is a sexually violent predator.Bauer faced up to 17 years in prison and a $40,000 fine, the judge said.Bauer had been charged by state trooper John D. Powis, then of the Frackville barracks, with 10 counts of child pornography and one count each of disseminating photos or film of child sex acts, and criminal use of a communication facility.The child pornography charges were withdrawn in district court.Bauer's crime came to light on July 13, 2015, when the Pennsylvania State Police Computer Crimes Unit found the images as troopers searched online for sharing of child pornography.The file was linked to a computer at Bauer's home.Bauer admitted to police that he had used file sharing software to download the images.