Former Bakersfield Police Officer Christopher Bowersox was sentenced Monday to four years in prison on his guilty plea of possession of child pornography. With credit for time served, the 41-year-old former detective could be released from prison in less than a year.
That four-year sentence was part of a plea bargain reached between Bowersox and federal prosecutors in February. In approving the deal, U.S. District Court Judge Anthony W. Ishii chose not to impose a longer term.
Channel 17’s Kelsey Thomas was at the sentencing and will have a full report on 17News at 5 and 6.
Bowersox could have faced 10 years.
Ishii said Bowersox use of pornography was linked to a family history of abuse and instability.
The then-detective was in a downward spiral of depression and anxiety when, in August 2006, he was dispatched to a grenade explosion that killed two small children in central Bakersfield, Ishii said. That gruesome scene pushed Bowersox closer to the edge, the judge said.
A few years later, the FBI arrested a Florida man on pornography charges, and searched his computer drives. There, the FBI said, they found a correspondence with Bowersox.
That led to a search of Bowersox’s home where, the FBI said, they found hundreds of pornographic images on his computer.
When officers searched Bowersox's house, he agreed to talk to them.
"Bowersox stated that he communicated with others in Internet chat rooms, and that he shared fantasies with others via Internet chat," according to court documents. "Bowersox reluctantly described the fantasies as things between men and boys and violence between men and boys," the documents said.
"Bowersox acknowledged the conversations and stated that the communication was all fantasy and that he had never carried out any of the described action,” according to federal prosecutors.
In addition to the prison term, Bowersox will be on probation for 10 years. He will have to register as a sex offender and will be prohibited from using the Internet without permission or drinking alcohol.
That four-year sentence was part of a plea bargain reached between Bowersox and federal prosecutors in February. In approving the deal, U.S. District Court Judge Anthony W. Ishii chose not to impose a longer term.
Channel 17’s Kelsey Thomas was at the sentencing and will have a full report on 17News at 5 and 6.
Bowersox could have faced 10 years.
Ishii said Bowersox use of pornography was linked to a family history of abuse and instability.
The then-detective was in a downward spiral of depression and anxiety when, in August 2006, he was dispatched to a grenade explosion that killed two small children in central Bakersfield, Ishii said. That gruesome scene pushed Bowersox closer to the edge, the judge said.
A few years later, the FBI arrested a Florida man on pornography charges, and searched his computer drives. There, the FBI said, they found a correspondence with Bowersox.
That led to a search of Bowersox’s home where, the FBI said, they found hundreds of pornographic images on his computer.
When officers searched Bowersox's house, he agreed to talk to them.
"Bowersox stated that he communicated with others in Internet chat rooms, and that he shared fantasies with others via Internet chat," according to court documents. "Bowersox reluctantly described the fantasies as things between men and boys and violence between men and boys," the documents said.
"Bowersox acknowledged the conversations and stated that the communication was all fantasy and that he had never carried out any of the described action,” according to federal prosecutors.
In addition to the prison term, Bowersox will be on probation for 10 years. He will have to register as a sex offender and will be prohibited from using the Internet without permission or drinking alcohol.