Rachel Anderson, 36, of Boothbay will serve 2 1/2 years in prison on child pornography charges. She was sentenced to 10 years, with all but 2 1/2 years suspended, for dissemination of child pornography, stemming from her arrest in October 2015 when images of child sexual abuse were discovered on her computer.

After prison, Anderson will serve 12 years of supervision with significant restrictions, including confinement to her home at night, inability to possess any device capable of internet connection, and only limited, supervised contact with her children. She will not be permitted to have any contact with other children under 18.  She is currently at the women’s prison in Windham, according to the Maine Department of Corrections.

Anderson had been sent the images by a South Carolina man, Michael A. McKinney; according to court records, the images were of him and a young girl. Anderson did not tell anyone of the images for several months, and sent McKinney an image that was not sexual but which she had reason to believe might be titillating to him, according to court records. Ultimately, Anderson told her therapist about the images, and the therapist contacted police.

Anderson was indicted on the child pornography charges in March. The most serious charge, exploitation of a minor, was dismissed at that time. She pleaded guilty to the lesser charges in April. In September, she was indicted on witness tampering charges for allegedly attempting to convince McKinney to withhold information, testimony, or evidence about her involvement. She pleaded no contest to the witness tampering charges on Oct. 25, and will serve time for them concurrently with the other sentence.