23-year sentence for man in federal pornography case
By NewsPress Now
A St. Joseph man was sentenced to 23 years in prison Thursday for producing pornographic images of three child victims and sharing them online.
Tyler B. Wirth, 35, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to federal prison without parole for producing and possessing child pornography. In addition, Wirth will spend the rest of his life on supervised release, will be required to register as a sex offender and was ordered to pay $14,381 in victim restitution.
Wirth pleaded guilty last January to one count of producing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography. He admitted that he produced pornographic images of three children, which he distributed to multiple users on the Kik app.
According to prosecutors, Wirth admitted that he communicated over Kik in July and August 2020 about his desire to sexually abuse children and repeatedly asked for guidance from other Kik users on how he should go about sexually abusing them.
Wirth received hundreds of images and videos of child pornography from other users, and distributed items from his possession of child pornography, which included more than a thousand images and videos.
Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Wirth’s residence on Aug. 10, 2020, seizing his electronic media and cell phone. Wirth possessed hundreds of other videos and images of child pornography on his cell phone.
