Prison ordered in child porn case

SANDPOINT — A Sandpoint man was sentenced to up to seven years in prison Thursday for possessing child pornography.

Greg Lamar Roberts, 47, will have to serve at least five years in an Idaho prison before he’s eligible for parole.

Roberts admitted he had a problem with child pornography, but said he struggled with a way to ask for help with his addiction.

“You’re going to get yourself in trouble by just asking for help,” he said.

Sandpoint Police arrested Roberts in November of last year after his landlord discovered images of child pornography on her computer, which Roberts was using without authorization.

Roberts ultimately pleaded guilty.

Roberts, through Chief Public Defender Isabella Robertson, asked to be released with credit for 169 days of presentence incarceration so he could enter substance abuse and sexual offender treatment programs.

“My client has been consistent with me that he wants treatment,” Robertson said.

Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall called for the maximum sentence of five to 10 years in prison. Marshall contends Roberts minimized and obfuscated his way through presentence evaluations. A presentence investigator called Roberts a “clear and present danger” to the community and a recidivism risk. A psychosexual evaluation diagnosed Roberts as a pedophile.

It was divulged during the hearing that Roberts had admitted molesting his daughter. Court records indicate he was charged with lewd conduct in Ventura County, Calif., in 1992, but the charge was later abandoned.

“Quite frankly, another jurisdiction dropped the ball and we did not,” Marshall said.

First District Judge Steve Verby opted to adopt the sentencing recommendations of the presentence investigator and the state. Verby acknowledged that defendants who are convicted of first-time offenses in Idaho can escape lengthy prison terms, but said Roberts did not qualify for such leniency.

“These are unusual circumstances,” said Verby, who encouraged Roberts to make the most of treatment programs through the Idaho Department of Correction.