LAKE HAVASU CITY — A former Lake Havasu City firefighter has entered a plea agreement that will send him to the Arizona Department of Corrections for purchasing and possessing child pornography.
The state is dismissing 16 various criminal charges against Richard Kelm, 49, in exchange for convictions on four counts reduced to attempted sexual exploitation of a minor.
Deputy Mohave County attorney Phillip Delgado said thousands of child pornography files were discovered during an extraction of the defendant’s cellphone last year. Delgado told Judge Billy Sipe during a Monday hearing that Kelm purchased the Child Sex Abuse Materials (CSAM) discovered on the device.
Kelm was charged with 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor in one case. 6 counts are dismissed and the other 4 are reduced to attempts for convictions.
The plea deal entirely dismisses a second case against Kelm and each of its 11 charges. Possession of dangerous drugs for sale, 5 counts of possession of dangerous drugs for sale, possession of narcotic drugs, possession of drug paraphernalia, fraud, pandering and prostitution charges are the dismissed counts.
Kelm was arrested last June after police investigated allegations that he solicited sex from two women in exchange for drugs and cash.
Judge Sipe deferred acceptance of the plea deal until a July 1 sentencing hearing. Terms of the deal require Sipe to impose a 5-15-year prison term, followed by lifetime probation.
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