A 36-year-old Muncy man will serve time in county prison before beginning a decade-long stretch of supervision for being in possession of child pornography.

Two undercover officers began an investigation against William C. Rushoe in April of 2016, according to the state attorney general’s office. Rushoe was arrested nearly a month later.

After previously pleading guilty in Lycoming County Court, he was sentenced to serve 12 to 24 months in county prison followed by 10 years of probation.

His time behind bars is the maximum he could serve at the county level.

The first undercover officer who contacted Rushoe via the internet was a crime analyst for the Winnebago County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in Wisconsin, according to the affidavit.

Rushoe and the investigator exchanged email addresses, and Rushoe began sending images of child porn to the investigator.

The first investigator introduced Rushoe to another investigator from the state attorney general’s office shortly after their exchange.

He sent 11 items total.

Since being arrested, Rushoe never has denied that he viewed and sent pornographic images of children.

According to a pre-sentencing investigation done by the county’s Adult Probation Office, Rushoe said he’d been viewing, downloading and discreetly sharing child pornography since he was 27. He told investigators and the probation officer who interviewed him that much of the issue is rooted in past childhood abuse.

He also told them he knew that what he was doing was wrong, but that he never had or would act on those impulses.

“But these are young children,” President Judge Nancy L. Butts told him in court. “And when people view this material, it creates a demand for it.”

What also surfaced in the pre-sentencing investigation process was that Rushoe spent about a year in prison for a crime he was found to have no involvement in.

Rushoe’s attorney, as well as Senior Deputy Attorney General Christopher Jones, both believed any more time in prison wouldn’t get Rushoe the treatment he needs to thwart any future sex offenses.

“But we are asking for the standard range because these aren’t victimless crimes,” Jones said. “These crimes do create a market for this material that is basically impossible to enforce. We do our best, but when it is being downloaded and shared from devices all over, it makes it impossible.”

The 10 years Rushoe will be on supervision will be actively dedicated to preventing similar offenses.

It was suggested that the probation office monitor his computer activity with a newly implemented program and that he get involved in any and all programs to treat the behavior.

“My knee-jerk reaction is to send someone who commits this crime to state prison,” Butts said. “But this is a way to take a therapeutic angle too we also have enough supervision time to send you back to state prison” if Rushoe violates the sentence’s terms.