Man sentenced to 120 years in prison in porno case

<br>OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ A school janitor who secretly videotaped five elementary students as they changed clothes has been sentenced to 120 years in prison. <br><br>Danny Wayne Dickson, 49, received the

Wednesday, September 18th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ A school janitor who secretly videotaped five elementary students as they changed clothes has been sentenced to 120 years in prison.

Danny Wayne Dickson, 49, received the maximum sentence _ 20 years each for five counts of procuring the participation of a minor and one count of possession of obscene material involving a minor.

District Judge Ray Elliott ordered Tuesday that the sentences run consecutively and called Dickson one of the worst kinds of predators.

``Children and the elderly are the two groups of citizens who are the most vulnerable,'' the judge said. ``They have to rely on other people and form bonds in the area of trust.

``What you have done is absolutely destroy any future to develop a trust in anyone. That's horrible. Unfortunately, 20 years is the maximum sentence.''

Dickson still could face additional time in prison. He is awaiting sentencing in federal court on one count of receiving child pornography.

The charge, which he pleaded guilty to last month, carries a maximum punishment of 15 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

Assistant Public Defender Marco Palumbo had argued for a light sentence because Dickson did not touch any of the victims. He told the judge he felt the 120-year sentence was excessive and that he has dealt with worse cases where the defendant got less prison time.

Dickson, who also was a church bus driver, was arrested in May at Rockwood Elementary School in southwest Oklahoma City after he picked up three videotapes of child pornography. The videotapes were mailed to him as part of a sting operation by U.S. postal inspectors.

Investigators found more than 500 videotapes, many of which were child pornography, when they searched his home. Officers found an additional 200 videotapes in a storage unit.