Students and faculty downloading or visiting child pornography through Ohio University's server can expect to be caught eventually, said Athens County Prosecutor C. David Warren.
Kevin B. McCance, a former OU student, accepted a plea bargain in a recent Internet child pornography case and was sentenced Thursday to 300 hours of community service, Warren said. Sentencing stemmed from a fifth-degree felony charge of unauthorized use of a computer.
The former student was indicted in the Athens County Common Pleas Court in November 2001 for allegedly downloading Internet images of underage girls in sexual poses to his personal computer in his dorm room in The Convo.
According to court dockets, McCance was indicted on two counts for pandering obscenity involving minors, 10 counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material or performance and 11 counts of pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor.
"It's not if you're going to get caught; it's when you're going to get caught," Warren said.
But Warren said he was forced to file a no prosecution motion because all three of their witnesses were unavailable because they were serving in the military at the time of the trial. Without the witnesses the state had a weak case.
But McCance's attorney said his client did not download the images, rather someone else placed them on the computer. The defense searched the computer with special software, which revealed several people had accessed the computer outside of McCance or his roommates. Images were placed on the computer on September 29 and 30 when McCance was out of town.
Warren said OU is able to catch people downloading pornography through their system by using computer audits. For example, when a person downloads or views child pornography a code alerts the system to audit that computer.
Recent child pornography cases in Athens County have resulted in prison time, and Warren said McCance also might have served jail time if convicted through trial, because one of the prosecution's unavailable witnesses was a computer expert.
The defense entered a fifth-degree felony plea as an 'Alford' plea, meaning he agreed to plea to a lesser charge without admitting guilt to avoid the consequences of prosecution, said Columbus defense attorney Sam Weiner. The original November indictments could have resulted in a maximum penalty of 25 years in jail.
As a part of the sentence on the fifth-degree felony charge McCance must undergo a sexual offender evaluation and drug and alcohol screenings. He also is not allowed to possess pornography and not permitted to have unsupervised contact with juveniles.
Weiner argued to have the community service reduced because McCance works two jobs and attends classes at Ohio State University. Although Judge Michael Ward did not make the sentence more lenient, the community service will be completed in Franklin County instead of Athens, which makes it more manageable for McCance.
The director of OU Judiciaries, Judy Piercy, said she could not comment on any hearings related to the felony charges against McCance, but Weiner said McCance withdrew from the university after fall quarter last year.
The defense also requested the original indictments be expunged, and according to the court dockets, the prosecution agreed to seal the records one year after probation.
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