(KRON) — A Bay Area man was sentenced to five years in prison for soliciting child pornography from a child victim he groomed over the internet, the United States Department of Justice announced Tuesday. Robert Haeuser, 33, of San Rafael, pleaded guilty to the charge last December, according to U.S. Attorney Ismail Ramsey and Federal Bureau of Investigations Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp.

Haeuser began communicating with a victim he would learn was 11 years old through the chat function of a mobile game in 2015, according to a DOJ press release. The victim lived with her parents in Houston. Haeuser lived in Marin County.

By November of 2015, he knew the victim was not yet in high school. By 2016, he engaged in an exchange in which he acknowledged she was not older than 12 and that if their conversations became public, “I would be in jail.”

Eventually, Haeuser and the victim began communicating via email. He repeatedly asked the victim to produce sexually explicit images and videos of herself and send them to him by email, the DOJ release states. The victim complied with his requests.

Between July 15, 2015 and Oct. 5, 2017, Haeuser and the victim exchanged approximately 20,760 emails and 13,600 text messages. The victim sent him at least 29 images and four videos of herself engaged in sexually explicit conduct, the DOJ said.

Haeuser was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 3, 2022 and charged with one count of receipt of child pornography. In addition to serving five years in prison, Haeuser was also ordered to serve 10 years of supervised release following his prison term.

The Hon. Judge Susan Illston of the US District Court ordered Haeuser to begin serving his term on Aug. 25, 2023.