Bronson man avoids jail in child porn case

BRANCH COUNTY — A Bronson man must complete five years of probation for downloading child pornography on his phone in September 2021.

Rex Otis III, 33, pleaded no contest to possessing child sexually abusive material, a four-year felony. A charge of using a computer to commit a crime was dismissed.

"My client has no record for all practical purposes," defense attorney John Vincent said. "I think this was an aberration. He may have actually been in possession of this material. I'm not sure that was originally his intent."

Otis told investigators from Michigan State Police Computer Crime Unit he was looking for older girls. Troopers showed up with a search warrant after monitoring the internet for people downloading illegal material.

Prosecutor Zack Stempien said Michigan Sentencing Guidelines, in this case, scored only zero to three months behind bars.

Circuit Judge Bill O'Grady imposed a three-month sentence, but suspended all time over the two days Otis was in jail before he posted bond.

Unlike most cases brought by the Coldwater-based special MSP unit where hundreds or thousands of child pornography images are found, there was only one video on Otis's devices, the court record said.

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Still, Otis is now registered as a sex offender in Michigan. Should he violate his probation, he can face up to four years in prison.

Otis did not comment during his plea or sentencing.

— Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DReidTDR.

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Rex Otis gets probation for possessing child porn in Branch County