A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced a former aide to Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, to five years in prison after the one-time congressional staffer admitted to receiving child pornography.  

James Maines Jr., 54, pleaded guilty in the case in December. Maines admitted to using his personal account to send five images of child pornography to his official House email in November 2012, according to a statement by the Department of Justice.  

Maines was also sentenced to five years of supervised release by a federal judge in Texas.  

Forensic analysis revealed Maines had downloaded child pornography and other child exploitation images dating back to 2004.  

Maines worked as a deputy district director for Barton. The Texas Republican has said his office was cooperating with law enforcement officials.  

The case was part of a nationwide initiative to combat child pornography launched by the Department of Justice in 2006.  

Contact Rahman at remarahman@cqrollcall.com or follow her on Twitter at @remawriter

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