A Grand Forks airman will spend 15 months in prison and could be dishonorably discharged from service for possessing child pornography.
Melbourne Michael Anderson, 27, was sentenced Tuesday in military court on one count of possessing child pornography, said Shaun Shenk, public affairs chief for Grand Forks Air Force Base. He was demoted from staff sergeant to airman basic, the lowest enlisted rank for the U.S. Air Force.
A judge also ordered Anderson's dishonorable discharge, but Shenk said the order needs to be finalized by Maj. Gen. Christopher Bence, the Air Force's Expeditionary Center commander.
The charge stems from a November 2015 arrest, when law enforcement officers found a video depicting child porn on Anderson's computer in his Grand Forks home. The search was the result of an investigation into three separate child porn reports in the area.
Anderson initially was charged in Grand Forks County District Court with a Class C felony child porn possession charge, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. His case was turned over to the Air Force, said State's Attorney David Jones.
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The airman was booked Tuesday into the Grand Forks County Correctional Center to begin his sentence.
