West Bend, Wisconsin Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Federal Prison for Sexual Exploitation of a Child (Producing Child Pornography)

Acting United States Attorney Michelle L. Jacobs announced today that Martin A. Ott, 54, from West Bend, Wisconsin, was sentenced for sexual exploitation of a child which involved the production of child pornography. Ott was originally arrested on December 18, 2008, after a federal search warrant was executed at his residence in West Bend, Wisconsin. At the time of his arrest, Ott was charged by criminal complaint, issued in Milwaukee federal court, for production of child pornography and possession of child pornography. Ott was later indicted for the same offenses. Ott has been detained without bond since the day of his arrest.

On July 16, 2009, Ott was sentenced to two concurrent terms of 30 years of imprisonment for the sexual exploitation of a child by producing child pornography on October 11, and November 2, 2008. Ott was also sentenced to life time of supervised release following his term of imprisonment, on each count.

At the sentencing, Chief United States District Judge Rudolph T. Randa stated that by Ott’s actions the victim has, in essence, received a life sentence because a young child is forever scarred from this type of activity. Judge Randa rejected Ott’s argument that his behavior had an organic basis. The judge noted that Ott’s addiction to child pornography may have been causal but it was not an excuse. He stated that a good man who does evil things is an evil person. Judge Randa commented that the number of images of abuse has seen an explosive growth since the advent of the Internet and that child pornography has become an epidemic not only in this country, but throughout the world.

This case was the result of a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Cyber Crime Task Forces in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and California. Assistant United States Attorney Penelope L. Coblentz prosecuted this case.

According to Acting United States Attorney Michelle L. Jacobs, the “Department of Justice has made the protection of our nation’s children a top priority through Project Safe Childhood, and prosecutions such as this further this priority. The use of children as subjects of pornographic materials is harmful to the emotional and mental health of the child.”