Child Pornography, Exploitation Charges Bring 4-Year Sentence
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
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James Harold Dawson, 41, of Runkle Drive, Warsaw, appeared in Kosciusko Circuit Court today as Judge Rex Reed accepted Dawson's plea agreement.[[In-content Ad]]As part of the agreement, Dawson was sentenced to 4 years in prison for child exploitation, a Class C felony, and 1-1/2 years in prison for possession of child pornography, a Class D felony. The sentences will be served concurrently.
Before the plea agreement was accepted, Dawson's attorney, David Kolbe, asked Judge Reed to suspend the jail sentence and allow Dawson to be on probation and under house arrest with a monitoring system. Kolbe said Dawson was not likely to commit the crime again.
"What he did was wrong, and he has accepted that it is wrong," Kolbe said. "He and the community are ready to move on."
Kosciusko County Prosecutor Steven Hearn responded to Kolbe's characterization of Dawson, saying that Dawson only submitted a plea agreement after a trial date and a deadline for a plea agreement were set.
"He did not step up to the plate," Hearn said. "He did not accept responsibility (for his crime). Only when the case was set for trial and a deadline was set for a plea agreement did he step up with a plea."
Dawson was arrested in July 2006 on one count of child exploitation. When police arrested Dawson, he was in possession of child pornography.
Judge Reed also ordered Dawson to pay a $100 fine for each charge and court costs in both cases.
Dawson was remanded to the custody of the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department and will be transported to the proper facility.
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James Harold Dawson, 41, of Runkle Drive, Warsaw, appeared in Kosciusko Circuit Court today as Judge Rex Reed accepted Dawson's plea agreement.[[In-content Ad]]As part of the agreement, Dawson was sentenced to 4 years in prison for child exploitation, a Class C felony, and 1-1/2 years in prison for possession of child pornography, a Class D felony. The sentences will be served concurrently.
Before the plea agreement was accepted, Dawson's attorney, David Kolbe, asked Judge Reed to suspend the jail sentence and allow Dawson to be on probation and under house arrest with a monitoring system. Kolbe said Dawson was not likely to commit the crime again.
"What he did was wrong, and he has accepted that it is wrong," Kolbe said. "He and the community are ready to move on."
Kosciusko County Prosecutor Steven Hearn responded to Kolbe's characterization of Dawson, saying that Dawson only submitted a plea agreement after a trial date and a deadline for a plea agreement were set.
"He did not step up to the plate," Hearn said. "He did not accept responsibility (for his crime). Only when the case was set for trial and a deadline was set for a plea agreement did he step up with a plea."
Dawson was arrested in July 2006 on one count of child exploitation. When police arrested Dawson, he was in possession of child pornography.
Judge Reed also ordered Dawson to pay a $100 fine for each charge and court costs in both cases.
Dawson was remanded to the custody of the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department and will be transported to the proper facility.
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