Half Moon Bay Man Who Had Thousands of Child Porn Images Sentenced, DA Says

By Bay City News Service:

A San Mateo County Superior Court judge Tuesday sentenced a 70-year-old Half Moon Bay man to two years in prison for felony possession of child pornography, prosecutors said.

Christopher O’Donnell pleaded no contest to the charges in June in a Redwood City courtroom in exchange for a sentence of no more than three years in prison, according to San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

Judge Craig Parsons handed down the two-year prison term Tuesday morning.

O’Donnell was charged in 2012 after FBI investigators discovered posts he had made on an online message board concerning child pornography, Wagstaffe said.

A subsequent investigation uncovered binders of child pornography in his home and more than 2,500 images and 200 videos on his computer, according to Wagstaffe.

O’Donnell, who had no prior convictions, will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, Wagstaffe said.