A Knox man was sentenced in Starke Circuit Court on Wednesday afternoon after pleading guilty in a plea agreement on two Level 5 Felony charges of possession of child pornography.
Mitchell Patrick, 22, admitted to Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall that he was in possession of multiple images and videos of child pornography within a time frame of Dec. 27, 2018 to Nov. 14, 2019. Some of the victims depicted were under the age of 14 and under the age of 12 and even younger. Starke County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Micah Cox found that some of the content was horribly graphic when reviewing the case. Judge Hall commented that Patrick’s behavior was heinous.
The plea agreement negotiated between Cox and Defense Attorney Timothy Lemon capped each count at three years with the sentence to be argued by both parties.
Judge Hall sentenced Patrick to the maximum amount allowed on each count per the terms of the plea agreement. Patrick will serve three years on each count of possession of child pornography as a Level 5 Felony to be served consecutively for a total of six years in the Indiana Department of Corrections. No part of the sentence was suspended. Judge Hall stated that Patrick would be able to take part in programs while incarcerated to address issues with his behavior. Patrick will need to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life. Patrick will be responsible for court costs and he may petition the court to modify his sentence at any time.
