A federal judge has sentenced a man to eight years in prison for having sexual contact with a 7-year-old girl at Yellowstone National Park last July.

Alan Scott Timberlake will also have to undergo 10 years of supervised release once he's let out of federal prison.

The sentencing, which came Friday in U.S. District Court in Casper, followed a plea deal between Timberlake and federal prosecutors.

In April, he pleaded guilty to one count of abusive sexual contact. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to dismiss charges of possessing and producing child pornography.

Without the deal, Timberlake could have faced 25 years to life behind bars if convicted on all counts.

At the April hearing, he told a judge he was pleading guilty, "because I am guilty." He also said he didn't intend to degrade or embarrass the victim.

Federal authorities indicted Timberlake on Jan. 15 and he was arrested eight days later at Yellowstone National Park, court documents show.

The indictment charged Timberlake with possessing child pornography on a laptop and producing child pornography sometime between August 2007 and July 2008.

Reach crime reporter Joshua Wolfson at (307) 266-0582 or at josh.wolfson@trib.com. Read his blog at tribtown.trib.com/JoshuaWolfson/blog.