MARION COUNTY – A 19-year-old Centralia man pleaded guilty Wednesday in Marion County Court to six of 10 child pornography charges against him.
Brent E. Morris was arrested in May and was ultimately charged with four Class X reproduction of child pornography and five Class 2 felonies for possession of child pornography. Both reportedly depicted children under the age of 13.
Morris pleaded guilty Wednesday to the six Class 2 felonies in exchange for the Class X felonies being dismissed.
He was earlier advised in court that if convicted on counts one through four, would have to serve those sentences consecutively. He pleaded guilty Wednesday to counts five through 10 and counts one through four were dismissed.
Morris was the second person charged in the same week in Marion County Court with child pornography offenses. Eighteen-year-old Brett Page was charged with nine Class X felonies for the reproduction of child pornography. He was released from the Marion County Jail after posting $10,000 cash bail.
Deputy Detective Bobby Wallace with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department says the arrests were made in conjunction with Homeland Security’s Cyber Crimes Task Force. Wallace adds the two cases are not connected and didn’t even take place in similar time frames.
Page is scheduled for a November 22 pretrial hearing, while Morris is scheduled to be sentenced on January 17, 2024, at 1:30 PM.