Former Sheriff's Captain Accused of Child Porn Will Serve No Jail Term – Report

Donny Lewis Dixon was arrested on charges of distribution of child porn after investigators carried out a search warrant on his home on June 1. Shortly after his detention, the 40-year-old resigned as a captain at the Chesterfield County Jail in Virginia.

Donny Lewis Dixon, a former Chesterfield County sheriff's captain, who was detained on a child porn charge, will get no jail term under a plea agreement, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch newspaper.

He was sentenced to one year in jail following his conviction, but last week, he entered a written agreement with prosecutors in Hanover County, which stipulates him being convicted on the misdemeanour charge of "contributing to the delinquency of a minor".

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The Richmond Times-Dispatch cited Dixon's defence attorney Peter Baruch as saying that there was not enough evidence for prosecutors to successfully prosecute Dixon on the felony charge.

"Rather than run the risk of a trial, we agreed to something that was a misdemeanour, did not involve the need for sex offender registration", Baruch noted.

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He cited the lack of evidence to support a felony prosecution in the Dixon case. According to him, there was no document or image produced during the proceedings that showed his client possessed anything illegal on his computer files.

Under the agreement, the entirety of Dixon's sentencing will be suspended as long as he adheres to a spate of conditions, including not having unsupervised contact with minors he is not related to and undergoing therapy and treatment.