By Joel Anderson, Times Staff Writer
Thursday, August 19, 2010
BROOKSVILLE — A 49-year-old Homosassa man was sentenced Thursday to five consecutive 15-year prison terms — a total of 75 years — for possessing child pornography.
Joe Edwin Rogers was convicted on July 30 on 125 counts of possessing child pornography. The six-person jury took little more than an hour before reaching a verdict.
During the trial, prosecutor Brian Trehy displayed all 125 pornographic images for the jury.
Rogers initially faced a minimum of 40 years in prison but Circuit Judge Jack Springstead opted for much longer sentences, calling the pornographic images "despicable."
"The judge commented that the images in the case . . . are hard to forget once you've seen them," Trehy said. "They are truly disturbing."
Rogers surrendered to Citrus County authorities on Nov. 9. Authorities said he got the child pornography over the Internet.
According to court documents, Rogers' girlfriend discovered a CD with pornographic images in a closet at their home and presented it to authorities following a child custody dispute with Rogers.
Rogers told authorities that he didn't mean to download the images. He insisted that he planned to get rid of the CD before his girlfriend found it.
Rogers' attorney, Charles Vaughn, plans to appeal the sentence.
Joel Anderson can be reached at joelanderson@sptimes.com or (352) 754-6120.