A Guthrie man was sentenced last Friday in Logan County District Court to 20 years with the Department of Corrections after pleading guilty to a 2023 charge of aggravated possession of child pornography.
Wyatt James Bartels, 29, received the sentence on July 11 after entering a blind plea to the felony charge in December. Judge Louis Duel ruled that Bartels must serve 10 of the 20 years in prison. Under state law, he must serve 85% of that time before being eligible for parole.
The investigation began when a Stillwater Police detective assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force received a cyber tip regarding an email account used to upload child sexual abuse material to Google Chat. The investigation expanded as subsequent reports were generated from social media platforms Snapchat and Discord. Court documents described at least one image as depicting a “prepubescent female.”
During the sentencing hearing, Assistant District Attorney Matthew Adams stated that as he learned more about the case, he would have filed additional charges, but noted the outcome would have likely been the same. The State recommended the 20-year sentence with 10 years to be served behind bars, a recommendation the judge ultimately followed.
Bartels, who has been held in the Logan County Jail for the past 21 months, had his attorney argue for a lesser sentence. The defense attorney stated Bartels had been a model inmate and had voluntarily taken therapy and other classes not required of him.
Related article: Man pleads guilty to possession of child pornography; sentencing set for this summer
Related article: Guthrie man charged with aggravated possession of child pornography
Bartels read from a prepared statement to the judge, though his words were reportedly inaudible to the courtroom gallery.
Before handing down the sentence, the judge addressed the defendant directly. “It’s impossible for me to have mercy on you,” the judge stated, later asking Bartels how he would feel if his daughters were victimized in the way the young girls in the images were.
After the proceedings concluded and the courtroom emptied, the judge granted Bartels a brief visit with his parents before he was escorted back to jail
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