Zane Wetzel, who pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography In December 2016 in federal court in Bangor, can be seen in Boston in this December 2010 file photo. (Courtesy of Wetzel family)
BANGOR, Maine — An Easton man who in 2010 suffered third-degree burns on 50 percent of his body in a high-voltage accident while working as a linesman was sentenced to one and a half years in prison Monday for possession of child pornography.
Zane Wetzel, 31, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography in U.S. District Court in Bangor in December 2016 before Judge John Woodcock, who also sentenced him for the crime Monday.
Wetzel, who faced up to 20 years in prison, will be on supervised release for five years and also will have to register as a sex offender, according to Chris Ruge, the assistant U.S. attorney general who prosecuted the case.
An investigation conducted by the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security led to police finding in May 2015 “images and videos of child pornography depicting actual prepubescent minors who were under the age of 12 years old” on Wetzel’s computer, according to Ruge.
Investigators said Wetzel used peer-to-peer file sharing networks to download hundreds of images at a time. Some of the child porn included men sexually assaulting children, with images and videos saved to the hard drive of his computer.
Ruge said that 36 members of Wetzel’s family and his religious community attended Monday’s proceedings to support him and that four of them spoke on his behalf.
“The fact that there is a low risk of recidivism and that he has that support impacted the sentence,” said Ruge. “Judge Woodcock acknowledged that he was handing down a lighter sentence than he has normally given.”
At the same time, Ruge said, Woodcock admonished Wetzel by stating that he did not commit a “victimless crime.”
Woodcock said in court that “these young girls from around the world, who have been subjected to this abuse, are somebody’s daughters.”
The judge went on to tell the defendant that his offense “is a serious crime that merits a significant penalty.”
Ruge said Wetzel acknowledged the seriousness of the crime prior to his sentencing.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
In 2010, Wetzel was hit with 69,000 volts of electricity while working as an apprentice linesman for Maine Public Service Co. He suffered a flash burn to his chest, back, arm and neck in the electrical accident that left him with third-degree burns over 50 percent of his body.
