A Schuylkill County man was sentenced to 30 months to 7 years in state prison on child pornography charges on Monday afternoon.
Eric Burns, 30, of Pine Grove, had previously entered a guilty plea on 10 counts of possession of child pornography and a single count of criminal use of a communication device.
On Monday, he came before Schuylkill County Common Pleas Judge Chris Hobbs for sentencing. Prior to Hobbs handing down the prison sentence which Burns must start serving on Friday morning, when he’s to turn himself in at Schuylkill County Prison, family, friends, and his attorney, Robert Kirwan II, pleaded with the judge to show some mercy.
Burns’ mother, Cathy, said a recent six-month stay in prison on a probation violation had changed the convicted man.
“He got messed up and he knows it,” she said, adding that Burns now helps pay her mortgage from the money he earns at his job as a manure spreader. “He treats me with the utmost respect now. All I ask is that you give him a break.”
Kirwan told Hobbs that imposing the sentence the District Attorney’s Office was seeking, 7½-15 years, was merely “running the numbers” and “warehousing” his client in a state prison.
He said Burns had learned his lesson and asked for a lesser, mitigated sentence, not one served in a state prison.
“Would that make a difference to him in the long run,” Kirwan asked Hobbs in seeking a lesser sentence. “Think outside of the bare numbers. I think the point has already been made.”
Burns apologized and showed remorse for his actions before Hobbs, too.
“I made some bad decisions in my life. I want to do the right thing and make my mother happy,” he said.
Hobbs did show some mercy toward Burns but said he can’t ignore the facts of the case.
Assistant District Attorney Jen Foose told the court that none of the images Burns had on his device depicted a child over the age of 10 and some were as young as 6 months old. Some showed the children performing sexual acts, she added.
“They were very minor children,” Foose said.
Hobbs told Burns it’s his job “to protect society” from people like him.
“If I went along with a mitigated sentence, I wouldn’t be doing my job,” he said.
The judge said that Burns’ isn’t a victimless crime and reminded him that the children in the images he downloaded have been victimized in many ways and will remain so for many years moving forward.
“If it weren’t for people like yourselves, these businesses wouldn’t exist,” Hobbs added. “I don’t believe it’s necessary to go to the extent the Commonwealth wants me to, but I believe a state sentence is necessary.”
Burns was sentenced to 2½-5 years concurrently on each count of possession of child pornography and another 5-24 months on the criminal use of a communication device tacked on at the end. He must serve 5 years on probation following his release. Burns must also register as a sex offender for 15 years.
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