Man sentenced to 10 years in prison on child porn charge

COEUR d'ALENE - A Post Falls man was sentenced Tuesday in Kootenai County District Court to 10 years in prison for the possession of sexually exploitative material.

William O'Connell, 39, was sentenced by Judge John Mitchell and pleaded guilty to the charge in April. According to a press release, O'Connell had multiple images and videos depicting young children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

On Dec. 10, 2014, investigators from multiple agencies executed a search warrant at O'Connell's residence. O'Connell was on probation for a 2009 conviction for possession of child pornography. He had served five years in a federal penitentiary and, according to the release, began viewing and downloading child pornography a week after leaving prison.

Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh said in a press release that Mitchell recognized the seriousness of the offense, and O'Connell's inability to control his deviant impulses, when imposing the 10-year sentence.

"Mitchell also recognized that the demand for child pornography is a primary factor causing the abuse of children in order to produce the videos and photographs viewed by people like O'Connell," McHugh said. "The sentence guarantees that O'Connell will not be released from prison for at least four years on the state charge, and then only if he can show the parole commission he can control his impulses."