An Owensboro man on Monday was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to 13 charges related to the Class D felony of possessing child pornography.
Oliver Westerfield, now 34, was arrested in 2019 by the Owensboro Police Department after a lengthy investigation in coordination with Probation and Parole.
According to a citation filed about the incident, on March 14, 2019, an officer with Probation and Parole arrested Westerfield for a probation violation and confiscated his cell phone. The officer reportedly told OPD that Westerfield was not supposed to have the phone and that Westerfield admitted it was his.
The citation says that Westerfield gave his phone to the parole officer, who checked the device and found suspected images of child pornography.
The phone was taken to OPD on March 21, 2019, and a search warrant for the phone was obtained, according to the report. The citation says data on the phone was downloaded, and detectives located 11 images and 2 videos portraying sexual performance by a minor.
Westerfield on Monday pleaded guilty to 13 counts of possessing or viewing matter which visually depicted a sexual performance by a minor.
According to the plea agreement, the recommended sentence is 5 years in prison on each count. Counts 1-2 are to run concurrently for a total of 5 years, and counts 3-13 are to run concurrently for 5 years. However, the 5-year sentence for counts 1-2 shall run consecutively with the 5-year sentence for counts 3-13 — meaning Westerfield was in essence sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison.
The agreement also mandates that Weterfield shall be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
