Felida man sentenced in child porn case

A Felida man was sentenced Friday in Clark County Superior Court to 15 months in prison for possessing child pornography.

James Alexander Gardner, 29, had pleaded guilty June 18 to two counts of second-degree possessing depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

He originally faced five counts each of first-degree dealing in depictions of minors and possessing depictions of minors. Most of those charges were dismissed and the remaining charges were downgraded, as part of a plea deal.

According to a probable cause affidavit filed in Superior Court, Vancouver police on Jan. 30, 2013, served a search warrant at Gardner’s apartment and seized multiple items of digital evidence.

A forensic investigation found 191 videos of child pornography, with at least 10 of those depicting a minor engaged in a sex act. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children found that 54 of the videos showed images of an identified child victim.

During his sentencing hearing, Gardner said he was “sorry for everything.”

Judge Scott Collier told him that viewing and possessing child pornography is not a victimless crime.

Collier agreed to follow the attorneys’ recommendation and ordered Gardner serve the mid-sentence range, as well as 36 months of community custody. Gardner was given credit for one day in custody. He will have to register as a sex offender for 10 years.