MARTINSBURG, W.Va. (AP) – A 50-year-old man from Connecticut will spend the rest of his life in prison for sending child pornography through the Internet to girls he thought were 14 or 15 years of age.

John E. Hargrove of Bristol was convicted of three counts of sexual exploitation following a three-day trial in October. On Friday, U.S. District Court Chief Judge John Preston Bailey in Martinsburg sentenced Hargrove to life.

Authorities said he had been instant messaging four teenage girls in West Virginia in late 2006 and early 2007.

U.S. Attorney Sharon L. Potter said one underage victim testified against Hargrove. Two of the charges against him were based on instant messaging he carried on with undercover law enforcement officers posing as 14-year-old girls.