THIEF RIVER FALLS-A Minnesota man convicted of child pornography possession this month received a stay of imposition and 90 days of house arrest.
William Arthur Kramer, 38, was convicted of one count of possession of pornographic works involving minors, a felony. A second count was dismissed on Sept. 1, when Kramer was sentenced to a stay of imposition, which will place him on five years of supervised probation and home electronic monitoring.
Law enforcement arrested Kramer in January following a nearly yearlong investigation by the Thief River Falls Police Department that began with a tip from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, according to a criminal complaint.
Kramer told police he would search for images of young girls on motherless.com, a website where users can share pornographic images and videos, court documents state. But he said the website prohibited photos of people under 18.
He estimated he downloaded more than 100 photos and videos of underage girls to his phone, investigators said in court documents.
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An analysis of Kramer's cellphone revealed several words in his history file "could relate to viewing underage children engaged in sexual conduct," according to court documents. Twenty photos and two videos taken from Kramer's phone were sent to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
He initially entered two not guilty pleas, but would plead guilty to one charge May 15.
His supervised probation will mandate psychological treatment and ban him from using the internet without permission, among several other requirements. Should he complete the stay without violating probation, the conviction will be reduced to a misdemeanor.
