Radder gets 30 years for child porn

A Belle Plaine man charged with 213 counts of possessing child pornography and several drug-related felonies was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in prison.
Dale R. Radder, 40, will also have to serve another 25 years’ extended supervision when his prison sentence is over.
Radder pleaded no contest to the charges in February under a plea agreement that prevented any additional child porn charges being added from evidence already collected in the case. Authorities said there were some 12,000 images seized from Radder’s computer that could have been used to file additional counts of child porn possession.
“This is probably the most prolific collection of child pornography we’ve seen in Shawano County so far,” Shawano-Menominee County District Attorney Greg Parker said.
Shawano County Sheriff’s Detective Chris Gamm on Thursday testified that 5,662 images and as many as 220 videos were examined to produce the 213 counts that were charged. Some of the computer files dated back as far as 2003.
Those included images of toddlers being sexually assaulted and, in one instance, having sexual contact with a dog.
Gamm said Radder made his own slideshows of many of the images, set to the music of The Grateful Dead.
Parker also showed a video made by Radder of children playing in the neighborhood, with the camera often lingering on the lower halves of their bodies.
Though there was no criminal charge associated with the video, it showed that Radder was a potential danger to the community, according to Parker.
Radder’s attorney, Eric Wimberger, argued the 30-year sentence recommended by the state was “overkill” and represented “a de facto life sentence.”
Wimberger noted his client had a troubled childhood and psychological problems and he argued unsuccessfully for a lesser prison term of 10 to 15 years.
Radder attempted to read excerpts from letters provided to the court from friends and family, but was frequently unintelligible as he broke into sobs. The excerpts were instead read by Wimberger.
Radder then read through a rambling 20-minute statement to the court in which he talked about his own victimization as a child and maintaining he was not a threat to society.
“I’ve never hurt a child,” he said.
Radder said he was sorry for his actions, but also defended them, saying he thought it was OK to look and not touch.
He also blamed the Internet for his situation because of the access it provides to illicit material.
“If it can destroy my life, it can destroy the world,” he said.
In passing sentence, Judge William Kussel Jr. pointed out the contradictions in Radder’s statement, and said Radder didn’t seem to appreciate the abuse the children in the videos and images underwent.
“These are not just dots on the screen,” he said. “These are real people, real children.”
Kussel said the downloading and viewing of child pornography serves to feed the continued abuse and exploitation of children.
Radder was visibly upset during some of Kussel’s comments, often quietly arguing with his attorney. At one point, Kussel interrupted his sentencing comments to advise Radder to listen to what was being said.
After the sentencing, Radder held up his middle finger at Parker and Gamm at the prosecution’s table.
In addition to prison time, Radder was ordered to pay restitution and a $500 surcharge for each of the 213 child porn counts.
Conditions of his parole after prison include a prohibition on any Internet access and no contact with children. He must also live at least 1,000 feet away from any area where children congregate.
Authorities in September executed a search warrant at a mobile home in Belle Plaine where Radder was living. The warrant was the result of a cyber tip that was sent to state authorities after alleged child porn was discovered on an Internet file storage service.
The IP address that stored the porn was traced to Radder’s residence, according to the criminal complaint.