Celina man gets 28 months in prison on child porn charge

CELINA - A rural Celina man was sentenced to the equivalent of 28 months in prison for 10 counts of pandering obscenity or sexually oriented material involving minors, each a fourth-de-gree felony.

Brian A. Winner, 40, 5445 Behm Road, Lot 7, Celina, had pleaded guilty in a plea agreement on July 27. Thirty-five other counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor, all third-degree felonies, were dismissed in exchange for his plea.

He was sentenced to 14 months in prison for each charge. However, the prison time for half of the charges will run concurrently, as will the time for the other half. Those two blocks will run consecutively, making his total prison time 28 months. Winner was given credit for 459 days in jail already served, further reducing his time in prison to about 13 months.

The sentence was handed down Thursday by visiting judge Jonathan Hein in Mercer County Common Pleas Court. Winner also was sentenced to a mandatory five years of post-release control. He must also register as a Tier 3 sex offender with law enforcement every six months for 25 years.

Winner had been found in possession of a CD containing more than 1,200 photographs, most showing young children in various stages of nudity, according to court documents. Several of the photos reportedly depicted young children engaging in sexual activity.

Defense attorney Jim Tesno argued that since the photos were on one CD, which Winner reportedly had in his possession for a while before he was arrested, the penalties should be served concurrently. Hein ruled that because Winner was under community control on charges from Auglaize County when the Mercer County offenses were committed, the two groups of five sentences should be served consecutively.

"First, I'd like to express how sorry I am for the crimes I committed, and I accept full responsibility for my actions," Winner said at the sentencing hearing. "I started a change just after I was booked in the county. I made the decision to change so I would never hurt anyone again."

Winner said he is involved in a program that is helping him change.

"They taught me real change requires real work. Over the last year, they've helped me to see the hurt that I have perpetrated doing. The program is teaching me to think before I act. The world's not all about me."

Winner had been sentenced last April in Auglaize County Common Pleas Court to a 55-month prison term for violating community control sanctions and to remain as a Tier II sex offender. The sentence in Mercer County will run concurrently with the Auglaize County sentence.

The community control sanctions were imposed after judicial release in 2013. Winner had been sentenced in 2011 by Auglaize County Common Pleas Court Judge Frederick Pepple to the prison term after pleading guilty to nine counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor, fifth-degree felonies.