MONROE - A Monroe man charged with possessing child pornography pleaded no contest Monday to charges of possessing a recording of a nude person without the person's consent.
Daniel Bliss, 36, pleaded no contest to a Class I felony count of possessing a recording of a nude person without the subject's consent, a misdemeanor count of sending threatening or obscene computer messages and a misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a child. The former two charges were reduced from Class D felony counts of possessing child pornography.
Two other counts of possession of child pornography will be dismissed as part of Bliss' plea agreement.
Bliss' charges stem from the results of a Department of Justice investigation in 2014, which discovered that Bliss asked for and received nude photos of a 16-year-old girl from a 17-year-old Rock County boy in a conversation through Facebook Instant Messenger. When Bliss' computer was seized, three videos depicting children engaged in sex acts were discovered on its hard drive.
Green County District Attorney Craig Nolen recommended a sentence of 90 days in jail as a condition of three years of probation and five years as a registered sex offender.
Nolen said he was unwilling to push for a sentencing on the child porn charges, as those charges carry a three-year mandatory minimum prison sentence. Nolen said he did not believe such a sentence would benefit Bliss, whose mental competency was called into question earlier in the case.
However, Green County Circuit Judge James Beer ordered a pre-sentencing investigation after Bliss' attorney, Philip J. Brehm, said he disagreed with Nolen's recommended jail term.
The results of that investigation will be revealed July 13. The maximum possible sentence Bliss can receive is 1.5 years in prison.
Daniel Bliss, 36, pleaded no contest to a Class I felony count of possessing a recording of a nude person without the subject's consent, a misdemeanor count of sending threatening or obscene computer messages and a misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a child. The former two charges were reduced from Class D felony counts of possessing child pornography.
Two other counts of possession of child pornography will be dismissed as part of Bliss' plea agreement.
Bliss' charges stem from the results of a Department of Justice investigation in 2014, which discovered that Bliss asked for and received nude photos of a 16-year-old girl from a 17-year-old Rock County boy in a conversation through Facebook Instant Messenger. When Bliss' computer was seized, three videos depicting children engaged in sex acts were discovered on its hard drive.
Green County District Attorney Craig Nolen recommended a sentence of 90 days in jail as a condition of three years of probation and five years as a registered sex offender.
Nolen said he was unwilling to push for a sentencing on the child porn charges, as those charges carry a three-year mandatory minimum prison sentence. Nolen said he did not believe such a sentence would benefit Bliss, whose mental competency was called into question earlier in the case.
However, Green County Circuit Judge James Beer ordered a pre-sentencing investigation after Bliss' attorney, Philip J. Brehm, said he disagreed with Nolen's recommended jail term.
The results of that investigation will be revealed July 13. The maximum possible sentence Bliss can receive is 1.5 years in prison.