A Gillett man will spend six months in jail for possessing child pornography under a sentence handed down Friday in Shawano-Menominee County Circuit Court.
Clint D. Schroeder, 35, averted a jury trial in September by agreeing to plead no contest to one count of child porn possession. He was originally charged with 23 counts of possession of child porn and one count of computer crime for illegally downloading movies.
Schroeder had already been convicted in Oconto County of possessing child pornography and accepted a similar plea agreement there. He was sentenced in that case to four years’ probation in February 2012.
In both cases, Schroeder still has an imposed and stayed sentence hanging over his head that would kick in if he violates the conditions of his probation.
In Oconto County, there was an imposed and stayed sentence of four years in prison and four years extended supervision.
Judge James Habeck on Friday imposed and stayed a sentence of three years in prison and three years of extended supervision in the Shawano County case. His six-month sentence was one of the conditions of 4 1/2 years of probation.
The state recommended probation rather than prison time for Schroeder given his good performance since being sentenced in Oconto County, his lack of violations since then, his successful completion of sex offender treatment and his continued employment.
However, the state had recommended one year in jail as a condition of probation.
Other conditions include 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 unsupervised contact with children under the age of 18.
Schroeder must also comply with the rules of the state Sex Offender Registry.
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.
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.