A State College man convicted of more than 1,500 felony counts of child pornography could face more than a decade of jail time after sentencing Wednesday at the Centre County Courthouse.
David Buckley, 29, was initially charged with 42 counts of child pornography and one count of dissemination of child pornography in March 2015. An additional 1,508 charges were filed in January 2016.
He was found guilty of all 1,551 charges after a one-day, non-jury trial in February. Centre County Judge Jonathan Grine presided over the trial and Wednesday’s sentencing.
Grine sentenced Buckley to a total of six to 12 years in a state institution. He will receive credit for 778 days already served.
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A woman who said she had been abused by Buckley during their childhood read a statement before the court, asking to be the voice of the voiceless images involved in the case. She claimed he feels no remorse for his actions and continues to manipulate those in his life and has come to believe his own untruths.
She implored the court to hand out the longest sentence, citing the likelihood of re-offending and the inability to find rehabilitation during a previous nine-month stint in a juvenile program.
Buckley’s attorney, Joseph Amendola, argued that what happened between his clientand the woman had no bearing on the case he was convicted for, as there was no physical assault involved. He also raised the argument that all the pornography was downloaded onto Buckley’s laptop during a short period of time when his roommate had access to the computer.
Buckley was also ordered to pay the costs of prosecution, but fines were waived. The court did not find Buckley to be a sexually violent predator, per a review by the state Sexual Offenders Assessment Board.
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