DARLINGTON - A Platteville man was sentenced Thursday in Lafayette County Circuit Court to three years in prison and two years on extended supervision for possessing child pornography.
Brian J. Holzer, 32, formerly of Belmont, pleaded no contest to two of the eight Class D felony counts against him of possessing child pornography. The remaining six counts were dismissed as part of a plea deal. Each Class D felony carries a maximum imprisonment of up to 25 years.
On Thursday, Judge Duane Jorgenson accepted the joint sentencing recommendation of District Attorney Jenna Gill and defense attorney Robert Duxstad. Conditions of Holzer's sentence include lifetime registration as a sex offender, any recommended sex offender treatment and all alcohol or drug counseling his probation agent deems appropriate.
Holzer is also ordered to pay a $500 fine for each of the two images he's convicted of possessing, in addition to his supervision fees.
The case stems from an investigation into Holzer's online activity, according to the criminal complaint.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children flagged suspicious downloads to an IP address in Belmont throughout 2016 and tipped law enforcement in January 2017. Investigators later linked the IP address to Holzer, who had moved from Belmont to Platteville some time before the investigation began.
When police apprehended Holzer, he admitted to owning the Belmont IP address and said he had downloaded "hundreds" of pictures of child porn, as well as 15 to 20 videos of child porn.
Holzer said he would "trade" child porn with other people through the messaging app Kik. Each of Holzer's charges is tied to a different video on his laptop. The videos depict prepubescent girls engaged in sex acts with adult men, underage boys and, in one instance, a dog.
Holzer was ordered Thursday to begin his prison sentence immediately. He has no prior criminal history, according to state court records.
- The Monroe Times contributed to this story.
Brian J. Holzer, 32, formerly of Belmont, pleaded no contest to two of the eight Class D felony counts against him of possessing child pornography. The remaining six counts were dismissed as part of a plea deal. Each Class D felony carries a maximum imprisonment of up to 25 years.
On Thursday, Judge Duane Jorgenson accepted the joint sentencing recommendation of District Attorney Jenna Gill and defense attorney Robert Duxstad. Conditions of Holzer's sentence include lifetime registration as a sex offender, any recommended sex offender treatment and all alcohol or drug counseling his probation agent deems appropriate.
Holzer is also ordered to pay a $500 fine for each of the two images he's convicted of possessing, in addition to his supervision fees.
The case stems from an investigation into Holzer's online activity, according to the criminal complaint.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children flagged suspicious downloads to an IP address in Belmont throughout 2016 and tipped law enforcement in January 2017. Investigators later linked the IP address to Holzer, who had moved from Belmont to Platteville some time before the investigation began.
When police apprehended Holzer, he admitted to owning the Belmont IP address and said he had downloaded "hundreds" of pictures of child porn, as well as 15 to 20 videos of child porn.
Holzer said he would "trade" child porn with other people through the messaging app Kik. Each of Holzer's charges is tied to a different video on his laptop. The videos depict prepubescent girls engaged in sex acts with adult men, underage boys and, in one instance, a dog.
Holzer was ordered Thursday to begin his prison sentence immediately. He has no prior criminal history, according to state court records.
- The Monroe Times contributed to this story.