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A former Wolf Creek Job Corps Center student was sentenced Thursday to 30 days in jail after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography.
Clinton G. Hester, 20, pleaded guilty to four counts of encouraging child sexual abuse and to first-degree theft during an appearance before Douglas County Circuit Judge Thomas Kolberg. Besides the jail time, which he has already served following his arrest in late April, Hester was also ordered to serve five years probation.
Hester was taken into custody after Job Corps officials turned over to police a compact disc containing sexually explicit photographs and video clips of young children. The images depicted more than two dozen girls between the ages of 5 and 13, and 11 boys between 4 and 12, according to statements made in court.
Hester, who at the time of his arrest was a month away from completing a Job Corps program in carpentry, downloaded the images from the Internet during a holiday trip to his grandmother's home in Missouri. He borrowed laptop computers belonging to other Job Corps students to view the images. When those students discovered what Hester was looking at, they reported him to Job Corps officials, who notified police.
The four counts of encouraging child sexual abuse involved images of four children who investigators were able to identify using an FBI database from previous criminal cases.
None of the children were from the local area, said both Bill Marshall, the chief deputy district attorney who prosecuted the case, and defense attorney Daniel Bouck.
Hester, who grew up in Tennessee but who was living in Port Townsend, Wash., when he enrolled in the Glide-area Job Corps, had no explanation for his actions.
"Why would a man 20 years old have an interest in children being sexually abused?" Kolberg asked.
"I don't know," Hester said, pausing for several moments before answering. "I was just curious."
The theft charge involved a laptop computer stolen in Cornelius, southwest of Portland, from a pickup. Hester bought the computer from a man who offered it to him for $100, Hester said. He wasn't able to use the computer, however, because it was protected by a password.
* You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@newsreview.info.
Clinton G. Hester, 20, pleaded guilty to four counts of encouraging child sexual abuse and to first-degree theft during an appearance before Douglas County Circuit Judge Thomas Kolberg. Besides the jail time, which he has already served following his arrest in late April, Hester was also ordered to serve five years probation.
Hester was taken into custody after Job Corps officials turned over to police a compact disc containing sexually explicit photographs and video clips of young children. The images depicted more than two dozen girls between the ages of 5 and 13, and 11 boys between 4 and 12, according to statements made in court.
Hester, who at the time of his arrest was a month away from completing a Job Corps program in carpentry, downloaded the images from the Internet during a holiday trip to his grandmother's home in Missouri. He borrowed laptop computers belonging to other Job Corps students to view the images. When those students discovered what Hester was looking at, they reported him to Job Corps officials, who notified police.
The four counts of encouraging child sexual abuse involved images of four children who investigators were able to identify using an FBI database from previous criminal cases.
None of the children were from the local area, said both Bill Marshall, the chief deputy district attorney who prosecuted the case, and defense attorney Daniel Bouck.
Hester, who grew up in Tennessee but who was living in Port Townsend, Wash., when he enrolled in the Glide-area Job Corps, had no explanation for his actions.
"Why would a man 20 years old have an interest in children being sexually abused?" Kolberg asked.
"I don't know," Hester said, pausing for several moments before answering. "I was just curious."
The theft charge involved a laptop computer stolen in Cornelius, southwest of Portland, from a pickup. Hester bought the computer from a man who offered it to him for $100, Hester said. He wasn't able to use the computer, however, because it was protected by a password.
* You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@newsreview.info.
