SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- A 29-year-old South Bend man will spend several years in prison after pleading guilty to Possession of Child Pornography, Aggravated Identity Theft, and Unauthorized Access of a Computer, according to the United States Attorney’s Office Northern District of Indiana.

On Thursday, Paul R. McDowell Jr. was sentenced to 7 years and 10 months in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release.

McDowell was also ordered to pay $66,000 in restitution.

Case documents reveal McDowell was a hacker-for-hire who would hijack young women's social media accounts in exchange for money from third parties.

Evidence showed McDowell would download private photos and videos after gaining access to said accounts.

When law enforcement executed a search warrant at McDowell's house and recovered his computer and cell phone, they were found to contain over 3,000 images and 3,000 videos of child sexual abuse material.

Court documents state McDowell attempted to hack into at least 37 accounts and shared private videos and photos from hacked accounts with other people online.