Cedar Lake man gets 12 years for child porn

A Cedar Lake man was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison Thursday for child porn.

Jonathon Koskela, 21, pleaded guilty in January in the U.S. District Court in Hammond to distribution of child pornography.

He will serve 10 years on supervised release after prison and repay $83,500 in restitution.

The social media site Kik notified the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that Koskela uploaded child porn videos to groups he created — with some featuring adult men having sex with young children.

Koskela “also encouraged others to sexually assault minors, to produce (pornography) of minors to send to him for his own sexual gratification, and he repeatedly asked to rent a child to sexually assault,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Morgan wrote in filings.

Federal prosecutors wrote he uploaded videos from September 2023 to January 2024 Defense lawyer Matthew Soliday argued for a lenient sentence, saying his client had no prior criminal history.

Munster man may avoid prison for child porn

A Munster man faces a 2.5-year split term after admitting he downloaded child porn.

Michael Prestamer, 34, pleaded guilty April 8 to possession of child pornography, a level 6 felony.

If a judge accepts the plea deal, he would serve one year in Lake County Community Corrections and 1.5 years on probation. He would also have to register as a sex offender and complete mental health counseling.

His sentencing hearing is May 14.

Multiple videos he uploaded appeared to show young girls “guided” or “coerced” to expose themselves, according to the affidavit.

At least one video showed a child “speaking a foreign language,” while another appeared to show a girl repeatedly asking if she could get dressed.

Google flagged the uploads on Feb. 17, 2023, notifying the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, who passed the tip to Indiana State Police. The uploads were traced to his Google account.

Police pulled Prestamer over in a traffic stop.

He appeared “visibly upset” and didn’t understand what he’d done wrong.

Chicago man faces six six-year split term for child molesting

A Chicago man faces a six-year split term for child molesting.

Geronimo Romero, 42, admitted to level 4 felony child molesting.

If a judge accepts the plea deal, he would serve two years in prison, two years in Lake County Community Corrections and two years on sex offender probation.

Court records allege Romero molested a preteen girl between 2018 to 2019.

mcolias@post-trib.com