Man sent to prison
A second child pornography conviction netted a Butler man a 25- to 50-year prison sentence.
Anthony Osche, 25, in court Monday said he was sorry for what he’d done, “and if given a chance — ever — I know I can make my liferight again.”
After hearing the evidence during a two-day trial, a jury determined Osche is guilty of possessing and disseminating the illegal images.
According to testimony, investigators with the state attorney general’s office determined Osche in 2013 downloaded 1,400 images depicting children as young as 3 years old.
The images, including videos, were on Osche’s laptop computer, an external hard drive and on multiple phones and media storage cards. Most of the files contained the letters “PTHC” in the title, which an expert testified is an abbreviation for “preteen hard core.”
Osche’s defense attorney, Terri Schultz, argued in court Monday the sentence was disproportionate with the crime and people convicted of molesting children sometimes get lesser jail time.
“I don’t think the punishment fits the crime,” said Schultz, who throughout the trial stressed the case did not involve live children. “(Pornography) is offensive. But there was no child touched here. This was pictures.”
But Butler County Judge Timothy McCune, who presided over Osche’s trial, disagreed, saying each time a pornographic image is shared, the child in the photograph is victimized again.
The attorney general’s office successfully asked for the lengthy sentence because it is a state mandatory for a person twice convicted of a Megan’s Law crime.
According to court records, Osche had a similar conviction in Dauphin County in 2009. In that case, Osche was sentenced to 2 years probation.
Because of the nature of the crime, he already is on the state’s Megan’s Law website.
During court Monday, McCune also followed the recommendation of a member of the state’s Sexual Offender Assessment Board and declared Osche a sexually violent predator. This means he will be required to register his whereabouts for the rest of his life.
