OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A federal appeals court has ruled that a Nebraska man sentenced to 10 years in prison for sending a photo that digitally added the head of an 11-year-old girl onto the nude body of an adult woman did not have his free speech rights violated.

Jeffrey Anderson, of McCook, was convicted for child pornography “morphing,” the editing of images into a pornographic picture. Prosecutors say the 28-year-old Anderson sent the picture to the girl via Facebook.

Anderson’s appeal said that the federal child pornography law was unconstitutionally overbroad when applied to his case, because the picture did not depict actual abuse of a child.

But the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Thursday that the government’s need to protect the girl from exploitation trumped Anderson’s free speech argument.