Centre County man gets long prison sentence for child sexual abuse material
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- Louis B. Wetzel sentenced to 30 years for child exploitation crimes.
- Wetzel pleaded guilty to producing child pornography and enticing a minor.
- Court imposed $50,000 restitution, sex offender registration, 10-year supervision.
A Centre County man was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison after federal prosecutors said he was in possession of a trove of material depicting the sexual exploitation of children.
Louis B. Wetzel, 41, of Walker Township, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Matthew W. Brann to 10 years of supervision once he is released. The judge recommended Wetzel serve his time at a federal prison in Union County.
Wetzel must register as a sex offender and was also ordered to pay $50,000 in restitution. If that balance is not paid off before he is released, Wetzel must pay $250 monthly.
The divorced father of three pleaded guilty in January to producing child pornography and enticing a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity. Three charges were dropped as part of the agreement.
Prosecutors said Wetzel coerced a 12 year old to produce and distribute child pornography for him. They said he also claimed to have the ability to offer children for sale to other adults to engage in sexual acts.
Wetzel did not dispute the allegations. When he was arrested in December 2023, Pennsylvania State Police said he admitted to possessing child sexual abuse material for upward of two years.
The images and videos showed children between approximately 10 to 17 years old being sexually assaulted by men, a trooper wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
Defense lawyer G. Scott Gardner said in a court filing that Wetzel is largely in good health, has no mental health or substance abuse issues, no prior criminal history and had a “normal” childhood.
In seeking a more lenient 15-year prison sentence ultimately rejected by the judge, Gardner argued the 30-year sentence would mark a disparity with similar or more egregious cases.
“While this crime was extremely serious and should be dealt with as such, Defendant should not receive a sentence near the maximum as the presentence report suggests,” Gardner wrote in a memo to Brann. “Such sentences are reserved for career offenders.”
Wetzel is incarcerated at the Lycoming County Prison.