LOS ANGELES — Johnny Ray Gasca, whose thriving bootleg film business once earned him the nickname "prince of piracy," was sentenced yesterday to seven years in federal prison for illegally taping movies in theaters and other crimes.

The sentence from U.S. District Judge Dean D. Pregerson in Los Angeles marks one of the most significant victories in the stepped-up battle against piracy by federal authorities and Hollywood studios. As the first person to face federal charges for using a camcorder to tape inside a theater, Gasca, 36, had become the industry's anti-piracy poster boy.

Yesterday's sentence came 18 months after Gasca was found guilty by a jury of three misdemeanors counts for illegally taping "Anger Management," "8 Mile" and "The Core" in 2002 and 2003. In addition, the jury found him guilty of four felony charges: witness retaliation, interstate communication of a threat, possession of false identification and fleeing the custody of his lawyer.

While the government had asked for a 10-year sentence, prosecutors said they were satisfied with the punishment.

"The prosecution, conviction and substantial sentence imposed on Mr. Gasca today shows the seriousness of his offenses and the fact that we take copyright infringement as a very serious crime," said Elena Duarte, head of the cyber and intellectual crime section in the U.S. attorney's Los Angeles office.

Gasca already has served a little more than two years since being nabbed in April 2005 at a Kissimmee, Fla., motel. At the time, Gasca had been on the lam from authorities for more than a year after ditching his lawyer at a Los Angeles drugstore while awaiting trial. Recording equipment, DVDs and video cameras were found in his room.

Gasca's attorney could not be reached for comment. Pregerson yesterday denied Gasca's request for a new trial, rejecting arguments that the case was part of a government conspiracy.

Hollywood studios made the Bronx-born Gasca, who once dreamed of meeting such film luminaries as Miramax founder Harvey Weinstein, a central figure in an aggressive campaign against piracy.

The Motion Picture Association of America trade group blamed Gasca and others for costing the industry an estimated $3.5 billion a year. Prosecutors maintained that Gasca was a particular problem because few people could match his ability to make high-quality copies for duplication and downloading.

Gasca's sophisticated camera equipment include a remote zoom and monitor devices, a belt with a camera and an infrared sound receiver, which he used to film the sneak previews of movies. Gasca's case was notorious in part because he kept a diary that chronicled his pirating exploits — alleging that he made as much as $4,500 a week selling movies and bragging that having pre-release movies made him popular with the ladies.

In September 2002, Gasca was thrown out of a screening of Paramount Pictures' "The Core" after studio employees noticed him taping the movie. He was arrested by Burbank police and charged with misdemeanor burglary, according to the court file. After being released on bond, he was caught again a month later at a screening of Universal Pictures' "8 Mile" starring Eminem when a studio executive noticed the "glowing green light" surrounding him.