HONOLULU -- A local Navy officer on Thursday pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography.
Cmdr. James Mattingly, 38, said he is addicted to pornography and was unable to resist pornography even after his arrest.
Mattingly's career required discipline and honor, but he still could not resist Internet porn. He had hundreds of sexual pictures and video of pre-pubescent children, some clearly in pain from the rapes, prosecutors said.
"This is a personal, psychological issue of great importance to him, but which did not impact on or have anything to do with his duties as a commander in the Navy," defense attorney Brook Hart said.
Agents investigating Internet sites where child porn was traded identified Mattingly. He purchased porn in packages that cost from $79 to $99, authorities said. Although he admits collecting the child porn, he said many of the pictures were not things he asked for, but came in the package.
As agents broke through the door of his Waikiki home last December, Mattingly grabbed some of his computer equipment and threw it out the window, authorities said. Unfortunately for him, there was still plenty of evidence left on the equipment he was not able to destroy, prosecutors said.
The charges will lead to prison time. Most collectors like him get at least three years in prison. He knows the felony will end his Navy career after 18 years. He has been in psychological treatment for several months.
"He's trying to do something positive about it so he doesn't repeat the behavior. He's ashamed of it," Hart said.
In court on Thursday, he admitted that despite being ordered to stay away from computers, he admitted accessing adult porn on a relative's computer.
His sentencing is scheduled for January.
