Ulster Man Sentenced For Having Child Pornography

HIGHLAND, NY — An Ulster County man will be spending about a decade in prison.

Carla B. Freedman, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York, said Tuesday that Shawn Wetzel, 39, of Highland, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for possession of child pornography.

Wetzel had pleaded guilty to the charge.

He admitted that he had previously pleaded guilty in Georgia to receipt of child pornography and was sentenced to 67 months in prison, to be followed by five years of post-release supervision.

In September 2021, about 16 months after being released from prison, and while he was under supervised release, probation officers conducted an inspection of his home in Ulster County.

During that inspection, Wetzel was found to have about 10 child pornography image files and one video depicting children as young as 7 years old.

Prosecutors said, after he is released from prison, he will be required to serve a 30-year term of post-release supervision.