Ex-mayor sent to prison for child porn
BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. » Former Stillwater Mayor Ricky Nelson was sentenced Tuesday to 5 to 15 years in state prison for possessing child pornography, authorities said.
In April, Nelson, 63, pleaded guilty to five counts of possessing a sexual performance of a child, a felony.
On Tuesday, Saratoga County Court Judge James Murphy III imposed a sentence of 1 to 3 years for each of the five charges, to run consecutive to each other.
Nelson also will be required to register as a sex offender.
Authorities said in April he admitted to knowingly having in his possession and control, and to knowingly accessing with intent to view, images containing sexual conduct by a child under 16 last August in Stillwater.
In court Tuesday, according to a news release from Saratoga County District Attorney Karen Heggen, Nelson acknowledge his crimes and apologized for his conduct.
Police said an investigation began after troopers in the state police Computer Crimes Unit became aware that an Internet Protocol (IP) address in Stillwater had downloaded photographs depicting child pornography, prompting police to seize Nelson’s computer.
Police have said there is no indication the activity occurred on village of Stillwater property.