MARQUETTE, MI – (Great Lakes Radio News) – Former Central Michigan University professor William Merrill faces at least five years in prison after pleading guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court in Bay City to receiving child pornography.
Under a plea agreement, federal prosecutors dropped a second count of the same charge and a count of possession of child pornography.
The 58-year old Merrill, who specialized in studying Internet censorship, admitted that in 2003 he downloaded a video depicting children engaged in sexual acts but that he didn’t watch the entire video.
He also acknowledged having more than 65,000 pornographic images on his computer.
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