A Sylvan Lake man has had two more years tacked on to his six-year prison sentence for sexually touching and taking pornographic pictures of his neighbour's son, starting when the boy was seven years old.

The Alberta Court of Appeal said the trial judge erred in not giving Andrew John Tettersell a consecutive two-year sentence for making and distributing massive amounts of child pornography.

Tettersell, 34, had also received two years consecutive for possession of child pornography and sexual interference with a child. He had pleaded guilty to all four charges.

"In our view, the large-scale sharing and distribution of thousands of pornographic images did not warrant making the sentence for that offence concurrent with the sentence for making child pornography," wrote the appellate court in imposing an eight-year sentence.

"Tettersell distributed over 16,000 child pornography photos and movies, in addition to the distribution of the pornography made by him involving the child victim. Rather, the totality of the conduct merited consecutive sentences."

Tettersell claimed the boy was a "ham" who loved to have his picture taken and that he often took the pictures at the boy's suggestion.

As well, Tettersell admitted he had been sharing child pornography through a peer-to-peer computer program for years and that he was sexually attracted to boys.

The court cited several aggravating factors, including abuse of a very young person, that the offender was in a position of trust and authority, that the victim was awake and encouraged to participate in the picture-taking, and that the collection and distribution of the pornography took place over an extended period of time.

Altogether, police uncovered a total of 37,986 images and 3,083 videos on the offender's computers, the majority of which were child pornography, when they executed a search warrant at his home.

Tettersell also must be registered as a sex offender for life and is banned for life from attending locations where children are likely to be found.