Centre County man sentenced to jail for dissemination of child pornography
A Centre County man was sentenced Friday to nearly a year in jail at minimum for the dissemination of child pornography, a ruling that tacks on time for a man already incarcerated at a federal prison.
Charles H. Payton, 57, of Ferguson Township, was sentenced by Centre County Judge Brian Marshall to 11 1/2 months to 23 1/2 months in jail. He was also barred from being in the supervisory capacity of any minor and must register as a sex offender for life.
Payton pleaded no contest in May to one felony count of dissemination of material that depicted the sexual abuse of children. The plea meant he accepted the conviction, but did not expressly admit he committed the crime. Thirteen charges were dropped.
Payton, who participated in the hearing via phone, did not offer a statement before his sentence was handed down. Marshall described Payton’s actions as a “crime of opportunity.”
It was not the first time Payton was convicted of sexual misconduct involving children.
He pleaded guilty in 2006 to a federal charge of possession of child pornography and was sentenced a year later to 57 months in prison. His latest arrest violated the terms of his supervision.
He was sentenced in June by a federal judge to 18 months in prison, as well as 20 years of supervised release. Payton is incarcerated at Allenwood federal prison.
Payton served in the Army and the National Guard from about 1985 to 1995, his former defense lawyer Andrew Shubin wrote in a 2019 federal court filing. Payton — who was honorably discharged in 2000 — was awarded the Good Conduct Medal and the Army Achievement Medal.
He also worked as a heavy rail equipment repairman. The on-the-road job fostered social isolation, leading Payton to join internet chat rooms to “fill a social void with ‘fantasy,’ “ Shubin wrote.
A doctor who evaluated Payton said he has “severe social anxiety disorder,” Shubin wrote. The condition, he wrote, was the “’fundamental basis’ for Mr. Payton’s recourse to fantasy.”