CLEARFIELD – An Irvona man accused of having child pornography was sentenced to state prison during plea and sentencing court in Clearfield County.
Aaron Michael Keith, 30, an inmate of the jail, pleaded guilty to 11 felony counts of sexual abuse of children and a felony count of criminal use of communication facility before Judge Paul E. Cherry.
Cherry sentenced him to 12 months to four years in state prison. He was also ordered to complete the Project Point of Light Program and submit to DNA testing at a cost of $250.
It was noted that Keith was evaluated to see if he should be classified as a sexually violent predator. It was determined he did not meet that criteria, but he will still have to register his address with law enforcement under Megan’s Law.
Prior to sentencing, his attorney, Chris Pentz, asked for a county sentence because Keith cooperated with authorities and has already served four months in jail.
When Keith addressed the court, he said he takes full responsibility for his actions.
“I deeply regret the stress this has put on my family and community,” he said.
The charges stem from an incident at Keith’s home Oct. 23. According to the affidavit of probable cause, agents of the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Child Predator Section was conducting a routine online investigation of pornography through multiple file sharing networks.
They traced a file to Keith’s internet connection at his home. Investigators were able to download one video file from this source.
In December agents executed a search warrant on Keith’s residence. They found additional video files of young girls on the hard drives at the home.
When Keith spoke to investigators, he said he knew why they were there and he cooperated with the agents.