WILMINGTON — A 67-year-old Wilmington man who pleaded guilty in March to 10 counts of child porn charges was sentenced Thursday to four to five years in prison and he must register as a sex offender.

On Thursday in Clinton County Common Pleas Court, Judge John “Tim” Rudduck sentenced John Potter to a minimum of two years on one of the 10 counts of pandering involving a minor, and a minimum of two years for the other nine counts, which are to be served concurrently. Potter must also register as a Tier 2 sex offender.

Sixty-four days of jail time was credited and post-release control for five years was issued.

Assistant County Prosecutor Katie Wilkin believed Potter should have received at least a 20-year minimum prison sentence due to the severity of the content in the videos and photos that Potter had on his computer, according to the pre-sentence investigation.

Public Defender Alycia Bemmes did not deny the severity, but asked the court to give Potter community control due to his compliance with the court and his lack of criminal history.

When given a chance to speak, Potter said he “made a bad choice” and talked about how he was “punished enough,” citing his health and losing contact with friends and family.

Judge Rudduck said he felt that the recommended 20-year sentence was excessive due to there being no sexual contact made by Potter. He also felt the recommendation was consistent with past cases or in cases with local victims.

According to the court affidavit, on July 26 Wilmington Police received a case from the Internet Crimes Against (ICAC) to investigate. ICAC had determined “21 known child pornography and/or exploitation photos were downloaded to an electronic device” at the suspect’s address, according to the affidavit.

A search warrant was executed on July 27 at the suspect’s residence. Electronic devices were seized at the property. These included the suspect’s cell phone and laptop.

While being interviewed by police, the suspect allegedly indicated he got the material from the website “Porn Socket.” Police located 400-500 photos and videos of child pornography containing sexually explicit acts, and contained boys and girls ranging from 1 to 16 years of age.

“(Potter) stated users only know what content they receive after clicking the link they receive. Mr. Potter advised he does not receive sexual gratification from possessing and viewing child pornography. He advised he has received child pornography from various Porn Socket users and is well aware that there is a possibility that he will receive these type of videos when they are disseminated to him each time,” according to the report.

Police asked him why he continued to get onto this site when there was a possibility of receiving child pornography. Potter was “unable to provide a valid reason behind his decision-making,” according to the report.

Reach John Hamilton at 937-382-2574