Many states, including Wisconsin, have strict laws in place regarding the use of child pornography. A person may face a lengthy criminal trial if they are found in possession of child pornography. When there is a large amount of evidence against a person for the crime with which they are charged, they may choose to strike a deal with prosecutors and plead guilty to one or more of the charges in order to have others dropped. In these situations, the person may feel they stand a better chance with prosecutors than with a jury.
An undercover FBI investigation turned up pornographic videos in the home of a Muskego man, although he claims he only viewed them occasionally. The videos were seized after law enforcement officials conducted a thorough search of the man’s house and seized his computers.
He faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison and a $100,000 fine after pleading guilty to one count of child pornography. The man has not yet been sentenced, but may have pled guilty to the charge in order to have four other similar charges against him dismissed.
In this situation, there is strong evidence against the man, and he has admitted to downloading the material. With these circumstances, the man may have understood that he was better off admitting his guilt in the one case, and prosecutors may have been looking to save time and money by dismissing the other four charges. The man’s attorney may have played a large role in convincing him that his best chance of eventual freedom was to plead guilty to the one charge.
Source: Source: Muskego Patch, “Child pornography case involving Muskego man ends in plea deal,” Denise Konkol, May 9, 2013