A New York man was sentenced Tuesday in Massachusetts for his role in the sexual abuse of an 18-month-old child, prosecutors said.

Gary Montana, 33, of Hudson, New York, was sentenced to up to 18 years in prison after pleading guilty in Berkshire Superior Court to aggravated indecent assault and battery on a child younger than 14 years, and posing or exhibiting a child in a state of nudity or sexual contact, according to the office of Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington.

The defense sought a more lenient prison term.

Montana persuaded a 30-year-old Pittsfield woman with whom he had an online relationship to send him explicit photos of herself, prosecutors said.

He then threatened to distribute the photos publicly unless she performed sexual acts on the child, which he recorded in January 2018, authorities said. He was arrested in August 2018.

The woman has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.