Man sentenced in child pornography case

Tears filled the courtroom on Thursday morning as emotions ran high when James Blatter, 36, was sentenced to up to 21 years in prison on several counts of voyeurism and sexual exploitation of a child.

In October 2013, a father found the former Costco employee taking a video of his young son in the bathroom of the store where he was working at that time with a handheld camera that looked like a pen.

Blatter gave a tearful apology before the court during his trial today.

“I am so sorry, I can’t even put it into words,” Blatter said. “But I’ll try .I’m here to take my punishment, whatever it is. I never meant to hurt anyone, and this will never happen again. I’ll make sure it never does.”

Blatter was originally charged with 25 counts of possession of child pornography, but 23 of those charges were dropped after he entered a plea agreement in September.

Defense attorney Greg May asked presiding 6th District Court Judge Robert Naftz to consider the fact Blatter has been showing tremendous remorse and never disseminated any of the footage in his possession.

May also said Blatter had 19 letters of support for the defendant from relatives and friends, and is also a first-time offender.

Relatives of the victim including the child’s father were also in the courtroom, hoping for Thursday’s ruling to maintain justice.

Naftz said he took into account every aspect of the case, and said if he’s put on probation to seek mental health, he would be too high of a risk to commit this crime once again.

“Nobody wins in this situation,” Naftz said. “If I were to put you on probation, that would depreciate the seriousness of these crimes. You committed some very serious crimes against some very vulnerable victims, and it is our job as adults to protect children. It really tears at the moral fibers of our society.”

Naftz went on to say although Blatter doesn’t have a previous record, the seriousness of this crime requires an incarceration sentence.

“This is a life-or-death situation for many of these kids involved and by downloading child pornography from around the world like you did. You’re just promoting that,” Naftz added.

Blatter will not only serve up to 21 years behind bars, but will also face a $1,500 fine, donate a portion of that money to the Bright Tomorrows child advocacy center and register as a sex offender.