A Gillett man already convicted of possessing child pornography in Oconto County accepted a plea agreement Tuesday on similar charges in Shawano County.
Clint D. Schroeder, 35, agreed to plead no contest to one count of child porn possession, averting a jury trial that had been scheduled to begin Tuesday morning.
Schroeder was originally charged with 23 counts of possession of child porn and one count of computer crime for illegally downloading movies.
According to the plea agreement filed in the court record, the state will recommend probation rather than prison time.
The recommendation takes into account Schroeder’s good performance since being sentenced to probation in the Oconto County case in February of last year; his lack of violations since then; his successful completion of sex offender treatment and his continued employment.
According to the agreement, both the state and defense counsel “will each recommend that the court find that the best interests of the community will be served and the public will not be harmed by placing Mr. Schroeder on probation in this case.”
Conditions of probation that will be recommended by the state include one year in jail with work release privileges; any further sex offender or other treatment recommended by his probation agent; full-time employment; no use or possession of any computer device; and no contact with children under the age of 18.
Schroeder could have faced anywhere from a minimum of three years to a maximum of 15 years in prison, plus 10 years of extended supervision, along with a $100,000 fine.
Schroeder will be sentenced Nov. 26 following a pre-sentence investigation.
The Shawano County plea agreement is similar to the agreement reached in Oconto County, where Schroeder pleaded no contest to one of 10 child porn counts initially filed against him. He was sentenced to four years probation, with conditions that included a year in county jail.
According to the criminal complaint, Schroeder downloaded child porn while using a friend’s computer in Cecil.
A Shawano County Sheriff’s Department investigation into child porn file sharing on a Peer-to-Peer Internet service turned up an area IP address that led authorities to the Cecil residence. Further investigation revealed that Schroeder had allegedly used the computer at that residence to download child porn onto an external hard drive, often while babysitting, according to the criminal complaint.
The criminal complaint alleged Schroeder knowingly downloaded photographs of prepubescent and underage females in explicitly sexual poses or performing sexual acts.
Categories
