A 72-year-old Mt. Vernon man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of distributing child pornography. As part of the plea agreement, five other counts of child pornography against Merlin Spath were dropped.
Spath was arrested in June after Jefferson County Sheriff’s Deputies began an investigation after getting a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The sheriff’s department obtained several search warrants for records and to search Spath’s home at 4303 Rose Lane Apartment nine.
Spath has been held in the Jefferson County Jail since his arrest.
