Ronald Rathbun Sr has helped counsel inmates. The pastor will continue to do that, but as one of them.
Rathbun will spend 10 years in prison, a sentence handed down to the 58-year-old Friday. He pleaded guilty to child pornography charges in December.
Alaska State Troopers arrested Rathbun at his home in November 2013. They found thousands of pictures of pornography involving young children on his computer.
Judge Michael Spaan did not mince words as he talked about the victims when sentencing Rathbun.
“They were exploited because there is a market for it,” Spaan said. “You are that market. You take that market and distribute it further.”
“I apologize to the victims, even though I can never reach out to them to apologize,” Rathbun said before the court. “I apologize to my loved ones, my family.”
Rathbun must also serve 10 years probation, and register as a sex offender for 15 years after he’s released.
Editor’s note: an earlier version of this story incorrectly named Ronald Rathbun Jr as the defendant. This has been corrected.