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	Ex-Minister Sentenced in Porn Case Amherst's Jerry Paull Gets 17 ½ Years in Prison for Having Child Pornography By Carl Chancellor Beacon Journal [Akron OH] April 7, 2007 http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/17042704.htm A former West Akron Methodist minister is facing years in federal prison after being sentenced on child pornography charges Thursday. Jerry Paull, 64, of Amherst, who had served as the minister at Christ United Methodist Church in Akron, pleaded guilty in January in U.S. District Court to charges of receiving and possessing child pornography. He admitted to having more than 3,700 pornographic images, many depicting children engaged in sexual acts. Paull, his family and friends had hoped that more than two dozen letters of support and documentation of Paull's ill health, including heart and diabetic problems, would persuade U.S. District Judge Donald Nugent to be lenient. Several of those letters noted that since being charged Paull has been deeply involved with Sex Addicts Anonymous and other treatment programs. In addition, it was noted that Paull never sexually assaulted anyone. However, Nugent sentenced Paull to 17 ½ years (210 months) behind bars along with a term of supervised release of eight years. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan called the sentence appropriate. "We are certainly satisfied with the sentence. It reflected that harm was done to children," said Sullivan. He said that victim impact statements from the children depicted in the images brought that fact home for the judge. Sullivan said people who download pornographic images of children do cause harm. "This is not a victimless crime," Sullivan said. In a letter submitted by his lawyers to the court, Paull is quoted as saying that he first began looking at pornography on the Internet in 1996. "At first it was celebrity nudes, but it progressed to adult pornography and on to child pornography. I began to spiral downward. I was addicted to this material," said Paull. Federal agents began investigating Paull in 2004, as part of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Operation Predator, when his credit card information was discovered on subscriptions to child pornography Web sites. In June of that year, agents searched his home and uncovered boxes of child pornography including videotapes. Carl Chancellor can be reached at 330-996-3725 or cchancellor@thebeaconjournal.com.
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