Wausau Pilot & Review
Portage County District Attorney Cass Cousins on Tuesday announced that a Stevens Point man will head to prison after having been convicted of seven counts of possession of child pornography.
Alex McDonald, 31, was sentenced by Portage County Circuit Court Judge Patrica Baker on May 17 to a 16-year prison sentence, consisting of eight years of initial Confinement and eight years of extended supervision. McDonald had previously pleaded not guilty to these charges but was convicted of these seven counts at a trial that took place on February 6 and 7.
Prior to sentencing, prosecutors provided a memorandum to the court which outlined some details of the underlying circumstances in which the images possessed by the defendant had been created, as well as the resulting criminal prosecution of the child victims’ abusers. Some images depicted children from throughout the country being abused back as far as the early 2000s. At sentencing, the Court highlighted the fact that each one of images possessed by the defendant depicted a real person and that these victims, many of whom are now adults, were re-victimized every time someone downloaded and viewed these images of their abuse.
The criminal investigation was conducted by detectives and officers of the Stevens Point Police Department, with assistance from analysts from the Wisconsin Department of Justice – Division of Criminal Investigation, Wisconsin Statewide Intelligence Center.
Portage County District Attorney Cass Cousins said the prosecution was the result of advanced forensic analysis of multiple cellular devices.
“Thankfully, expert investigators at the Stevens Point Police Department worked hand-in-hand with Department of Justice analysts to develop clear proof of this defendant’s possession and viewing of numerous vile images of child sexual abuse, and then present this information in a clear and comprehensible fashion at trial,” Cousins said, in a news release. “This outcome shows the capability of investigators to detect and arrest these types of offenders, and provide some measure of assurance to child sexual abuse victims that individuals possessing child pornography will be prosecuted to the fullest possible extent.”
