A Baton Rouge man faces a prison sentence of up to 10 years for his part in a dogfighting operation in southeast Louisiana.

A federal judge in Baton Rouge accepted the guilty plea of Antonio Damon Atkins, 35, on Thursday, court records show.

Atkins is the seventh person convicted in the ongoing investigation of dogfighting operation, the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement. Federal prosecutors amassed evidence including recorded telephone conversations in which participants talked about arranging dogfights, obtaining and breeding dogs for fights and “drowning unsellable puppies,” according to the statement.

Federal agents also confiscated dogfighting paraphernalia and recovered dozens of dogs, some scarred from apparent fights. Dogs were kept at multiple properties, according to the indictment. The dogfights were held at a property in the town of Independence in Tangipahoa Parish, east of Baton Rouge.

Atkins is awaiting a sentencing date. He could be imprisoned for up to 10 years and fined as much as $500,000 after pleading guilty to two counts related to the federal Animal Welfare Act, according to the Justice Department statement.

Of six others convicted in the case, five have been sentenced so far, with penalties ranging from one year to five years.

“No one has the right to torture any creature on this earth,” Douglas A. Williams, special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans office, said in the statement. “The FBI thanks its partners in this case for their steadfast work to hold Mr. Atkins accountable.”