IRON MOUNTAIN – A Norway man who possessed child pornography on his computer will be spending the next nine months in the Dickinson County Jail and the next five years on probation.

William George Morrison, 52, was sentenced in Dickinson County Circuit Court on one felony count of possession of child sexually abusive material.

The charge stems from an incident that occurred in Norway in 2011.

According to the criminal complaint, Morrison had given his computer to another person for repairs. While working on the computer, the person found multiple video files containing images of child pornography.

The computer was turned over to authorities and examined by the Michigan State Police Computer Crimes Unit (CCU) and a critical care pediatrician.

The complaint states that the CCU identified seven video files containing images of young boys engaging in sexual activity. The complaint also cites the pediatrician’s opinion that at least two of the files depicted boys under the age of 16.

During the sentencing hearing, defense attorney Michael Scholke pointed out that Morrison has no prior criminal record and did not attempt to flee the area during the three-year investigation into this crime.

Scholke added that Morrison was not manufacturing or distributing child pornography.

“I don’t believe this is someone who’s a threat to society,” he said. “This is not a harbinger of things to come.”

Dickinson County Prosecutor Lisa Richards was more cautious.

“The pre-sentence investigation doesn’t come close to describing what was on Mr. Morrison’s computer,” she said. “This was not a case of him looking at unsolicited pop-ups.”

Richards claimed that the seven video files of suspected child pornography on Morrison’s computer had all been downloaded. There were also 64 photographs of suspected child pornography recovered from the computer, she added.

In addition, Richards said that the CCU had recovered online chats of Morrison actively soliciting photographs of young boys and girls.

When given a chance to address the court, Morrison apologized for his actions.

“I embarrassed my community and my family,” he said. “I’m going to end up starting all over for something that was foolish and stupid.”

Judge Richard J. Celello recognized the fact that Morrison had lived a crime-free life up until he was charged in this case. But, he did share the same reservations as Richards.

“This was more than just inactive conduct on your part,” he said. “These chats are very disturbing – if you had made contact with any juveniles, you’d be facing a 10-year prison sentence.”

Nikki Younk’s e-mail address is nyounk@ironmountaindailynews.com.