A 25-year-old Norwich man was sentenced Monday in New London Superior Court to a year in prison followed by 10 years of strict probation and registry as a sex offender for illegal possession of child pornography.

Yamil Cabrera had no prior criminal record and no work history when Norwich police seized his computer and phone in December 2012 after receiving information from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service that somebody at his 90 North St. address was sharing child pornography files, according to an arrest warrant affidavit and testimony in New London Superior Court.

While police searched the apartment where Cabrera lived with his mother, Cabrera admitted he had downloaded files of children engaged in sexual acts. Police conducted a forensic examination of Cabrera's devices and found 21 videos of children obviously under the age of 16 and 17 more of young people whose age could not be determined, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. The devices also contained 20 videos of adult pornography.

Cabrera pleaded guilty to third-degree possession of child pornography and received the mandatory minimum one year in prison for that charge. Prosecutor Theresa Anne Ferryman said she was struck by the fact that Cabrera had no criminal history, no employment history and no history of mental illness or substance abuse. She said supervison by the Department of Adult Probation would likely do him good. His attorney, Kevin C. Barrs, said Cabrera is likely to do well on probation and never return to court.

"You're going to have to make some decisions about what you're doing with your life," Judge Hillary B. Strackbein told Cabrera as she handed down the sentence of 20 years in prison, suspended after one year served followed by 10 years of probation.

k.florin@theday.com

Twitter: @KFLORIN