Paul Alexander traded in a few minutes of fame on television for a yearlong prison sentence.

Alexander, 29, appeared on “The Jerry Springer Show” with his 22-year-old girlfriend, speaking about their seven-year-old child.

Authorities in Cape May County (N.J.), after receiving a tip, watched the show and calculated that Alexander’s sexual relationship with the woman must have begun when she was 13, according to prosecutor Marian Ragusa.

Prosecutors charged Alexander with endangering the welfare of a child and second-degree sexual assault for having sex with the woman when she was underage.

Although the woman, identified only as Rita, told the court she did not want Alexander sent to jail, prosecutors and the judge all agreed that prison time was required.

“Once a person goes on national television and acknowledges committing a crime, I can’t imagine a state – any state – standing idly by,” said Judge Carmen Alvarez.