A Carson City man pleaded guilty Monday to lewdness after prosecutors dropped charges he attempted to download child pornography.
Christopher Nelson, 20, entered the plea before Carson City District Judge Michael Griffin. The gross misdemeanor charge carries a penalty of one-year in jail, but Nelson has already served 352 days behind bars since his arrest July 19, 2005. He was released on his own recognizance. One of the conditions of the plea agreement is Nelson must register as a sex-offender.
According to court records, Nelson's live-in girlfriend turned him in to police after he was allegedly acting suspicious one evening while he was on the computer. When she investigated further, the girlfriend allegedly found two incomplete downloads of files with names that suggested they contained child pornography.
"He admitted he was attempting to look at child porn, but it was not child porn when we opened the files (though) it was definitely pornography," said Chief Criminal District Attorney Anne Langer.
A forensic computer analyst from Arizona testified during Nelson's preliminary hearing the computer hard drive contained three downloaded videos with suggestive titles such as "preteen gay 12 year old," "Illegal preteen underage Lolita kiddy," and "Lolita kiddy preteen, tiny children sex."
The analyst said the three videos were never viewed by the computer owner, but when the analyst viewed them, none contained child porn.
Nelson could also be fined up to $2,000 when he is formally sentenced Oct. 30.
• Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.