New Bern, N.C. — A Fayetteville man was sentenced Tuesday to nine years in prison for receiving and possessing child pornography, authorities said.

Joe Forest Ross also must spend the rest of his life on supervised release, U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan ruled.

Ross paid $79 to subscribe to a Web site called “Illegal.CP” that sold access to extreme images of sexual abuse of young children, authorities said. When U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detected the site and took it down, they discovered records leading to many subscribers.

Investigators searched Ross' residence and examined his computers and found that he had amassed more than 1,500 images and 70
videos depicting children ages 6 to 12 engaged in sexual activity or as the victims of abuse, authorities said.