A Birmingham attorney who formerly worked on Gov. Kay Ivey’s staff has been sentenced to federal prison on child sex charges.

Chase Tristian Espy, 37, was sentenced Tuesday to more than eight years in prison after pleading guilty to one of two charges alleged in his 2022 indictment.

U.S. District Court Judge Annemarie Axon also ordered Espy to 20 years of supervised release after his prison term is complete.

Espy was ordered to pay $15,000 in assessments for the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act and $5,000 to the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act.

Assessments collected under the statutes are used to fund and enhance victim services. Espy was remanded into the custody of the U.S. Marshal’s Office.

Espy was charged with attempted coercion and enticement of a minor and possession of child pornography. The charges stem from events that took place between March 2021 and August 2021.

He pleaded guilty Oct. 18, 2022, to possession of child pornography. As part of his plea, the enticement of a minor charge was dismissed.

Espy was initially arrested on state charges in August of 2021. He was charged with solicitation by computer/electronic solicitation of a child, which is a Class B felony. That case has been bound over to a state grand jury for indictment consideration.

At the time of his 2021 arrest, he was a deputy general counsel in the Office of Governor but was fired that day.

According to his federal plea agreement, Espy on March 25, 2021, began communicating with an undercover investigator that he believed to be a 15-year-old girl. The communication began on an undisclosed social media site.

Documents state that Espy expressed disappointment in his sexual relationship with his wife and told who he thought was the 15-year-old girl what he liked, what he wanted to do to her and what he wanted her to do to him. Those conversations were sexually explicit.

He told the “teen” that he lived in Vestavia Hills and wanted to meet with her. He sent her a picture of his face, and later sent a picture of himself in shorts with an erection, documents state.

Their conversations continued until May 21, 2021.

When Espy was arrested, investigators seized his cell phone. On that phone, they found 69 videos and four images of child sexual abuse. Those videos and images included sex involving toddlers, and one that involved a child and bestiality.

The FBI’s Child Exploitation Human Trafficking Task Force investigated the case, along with the Homewood Police Department and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

“No one is above the law, and today’s sentence sends a message to anyone who preys on innocent children,’’ said Northern District of Alabama U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona. “We will use every tool available to us to investigate and prosecute those who target children for abuse.”