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updated 3/18/2010 3:11:48 PM ET 2010-03-18T19:11:48

An executive producer for the 1980s sit-com "Growing Pains" has been sentenced in Arkansas to 7 1/2 years in prison for distribution of child pornography.

Steven Marshall was arrested last April 15 on charges of distribution and possession of child pornography. Marshall pleaded guilty to distribution and the possession charge was dropped.

Authorities say he engaged in sending and receiving child pornography and participated in online chats detailing child abduction, bondage, rapes and murders.

U.S. District Judge J. Leon Holmes said Tuesday that Marshall's sentence exceeded the five-year minimum for distribution because of the nature of the pictures and language used in chat rooms.

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