CAPITAL REGION, N.Y. (NEWS10) — A Saugerties man was sentenced to 70 years behind bars for sexually exploiting and abusing children. A federal judge handed down the sentence last week.

On Tuesday, members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s joint Child Exploitation Task Force that brought the convicted predator to justice spoke with NEWS10’s Anya Tucker.

Law enforcement first became aware of Matthew Osuba as the result of a tip from someone he was speaking with online.

“This individual, Mr. Osuba, was indicating that he was having sex with children as young as 4 years old. So, right then and there, that’s obviously going to rise to the top of our case level,” said FBI Supervisory Special Agent Don Zumpano.

He said the New York State Police shared the tip with the FBI. The FBI then gathered up their Child Exploitation Task Force members, which includes several Capital Region law enforcement agencies.

Investigator Chris Smith with the Colonie Police Department, who specializes in sex abuse arrests, got to work immediately.

“Because it was a tip of a nature that they wanted to get on right away. That being the fact there was potentially ongoing sexual abuse,” said Lt. Robert Winn, of the Colonie Police.

Evidence at trial showed that Matthew Osuba had videotaped himself sexually exploiting a minor child. A jury convicted the Saugerties man of Sexually Exploiting a Child and Distributing and Possessing Child Pornography.

The judge in the federal case responded by sentencing Osuba to 70 years behind bars.

Anya: “In all your years with the FBI have you ever seen a sentence like this?”

Zumpano: “Not for this violation. Seventy years I think speaks to how bad of an individual he was and the path of destruction that he leaves behind.”

Investigators identified several more victims after Osuba’s arrest.

“It’s so imperative that these people get the time that they are getting here on the federal side,” Lt. Winn said. “The victims are out there; I mean they are real. They could be your brothers, your sisters, you family members.”

The partnership within the Child Exploitation Task Force has been helping to secure arrests for years and is continually expanding.

Collectively, they are right now working on 180 open cases.

“You know, from computer forensics to online undercover work. You name it. The victims services side of it, right. So I’ve seen it work, and this case is a perfect example of why it works,” said Zumpano.