By Conrad Dudderar
Associate Editor
EL RENO – A senior citizen has been sentenced in Canadian County District Court to serve two years in prison after being convicted of having a large quantity of child porn.
Oklahoma City’s Thomas Dewitt Diehl, 76, recently pleaded guilty to aggravated possession of child pornography.
Diehl, a former Yukon-area resident, appeared with his attorney Jason Spanich for an Oct. 24th hearing before Canadian County District Judge Paul Hesse.
Judge Hesse sentenced Diehl to serve 10 years in Oklahoma Department of Corrections’ custody – the first two years in prison then eight years suspended.
The convicted sex offender had failed life in prison and a maximum $10,000 fine for the felony offense.
While on probation, Diehl will be supervised by DOC officials. The defendant was ordered to pay a $250 fine and $250 victim’s compensation assessment.
Diehl was booked at 5:08 p.m. Oct. 24 into the Canadian County Jail in El Reno to start serving his sentence.
He had been released from jail on a $1,000 bond after initially being booked in July 2022.
‘100 OR MORE’ MATERIALS
Diehl was formally charged Nov. 15, 2022, with aggravated possession of child pornography.
The charging document describes the depiction of minors engaged in sexual activities.
Diehl “knowingly kept in his possession 100 or more separate materials, representations or depictions in any form or medium” including an HP laptop, according to Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Boyer.
Oklahoma City Police investigated the criminal case.
Diehl entered a “blind” guilty plea and waived his right to a trial at an Aug. 29th district court arraignment.
Judge Hesse accepted the defendant’s plea and found him guilty, ordering a pre-sentence investigation conducted by DOC.
The pre-sentence report was presented and evidence of child pornography displayed during the Oct. 24th sentencing hearing. Diehl testified before Judge Hesse handed down his sentence.
