A Boothbay man has been sentenced to six months in jail and two years of probation for possessing child pornography.
Philip O. Gregory, 50, pleaded guilty Sept. 26 to five counts of class C possession of sexually explicit materials, a felony; and five counts of class D possession of sexually explicit materials, a misdemeanor, according to court documents.
The state dismissed several other charges: one count each of class B and C dissemination of sexually explicit materials, five counts of class C possession of sexually explicit materials, and five counts of class D possession of sexually explicit materials.
The difference between the felony and misdemeanor possession charges is the age of the children who appear in the materials. The felony charges refer to children under the age of 12; the misdemeanor charges to children under the age of 16.
Gregory was sentenced to four years with all but 180 days suspended, plus two years of probation. He also has to pay a $275 fine.
His probation conditions prohibit contact with children under 16, prohibit Internet access and possession of file-storage devices or “sexually oriented material,” and prohibit the possession or use of alcohol.
He must complete out-patient treatment for sexual offender and substance abuse issues and submit to random search and testing for alcohol, drugs, and sexually oriented material.
If Gregory violates probation, he could return to custody for the remainder of the four-year sentence.
Gregory, through his attorney, Justin Andrus, recommended a 90-day initial sentence.
“The material Mr. Gregory possessed was illegal, but was at the less aggravated extreme as far as the range of possible illegal materials,” Andrus said in a sentencing memorandum. “He had no material in which any child was assaulted. He did not contribute in any way to the market demand for illegal photography.”
Gregory also cooperated with police and took responsibility for his actions, Andrus said.
Special Agent Justin Kittredge, of the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit, was the investigating officer.
Gregory “reported accessing files of child pornographic nature via the Internet for about 10 years,” Kittredge said in his report. He focused on preteen and teenage girls and “acknowledged his collection of files of child pornographic nature typically depicted children 8 to 12 years of age.”
A search of Gregory’s “digital media revealed about 33,000 files of a child pornographic nature,” Kittredge said.
A Lincoln County grand jury indicted Gregory on 21 child pornography-related charges March 11.
