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Matthew William Garrison, 32, of Rochester, formerly of Austin, was sentenced to 15 years of probation for two counts of felony possession of child pornography by a predatory offender on Thursday in Mower County District Court.

Five additional counts of felony possession of child pornography by a predatory offender were dismissed as part of a plea agreement reached on Aug. 7.

Judge Jeffrey Kritzer issued the sentence.

Court documents state that Garrison, a registered predatory offender, was arrested on Nov. 8, 2018, for violating his probation. A violation report submitted by an agent of DFO Community Corrections indicated that Garrison had been in possession of child pornography in Austin. The agent had confronted Garrison about tampering with internet monitoring software on his computer and seized Garrison’s computer after Garrison admitted to viewing child pornography.

An Austin detective received a search warrant for Garrison’s computer, then notified the United States Homeland Security Investigations Unit (HSIU), who advised him to send the computer to their forensic examiner. The HSIU obtained a federal search warrant and notified the detective that the computer contained images and videos of suspected child pornography.

HSIU provided the detective a DVD that contained approximately 70 images and two videos of child pornography from Garrison’s computer. An arrest warrant was then issued for Garrison, who was scheduled to be released from a treatment facility within a few days of the detective receiving the DVD.

A review of Garrison’s criminal record shows an adjudication of delinquency for second-degree criminal sexual conduct and a prior conviction for possession of pornographic work involving minors.

In addition to probation, Garrison must follow 23 conditions, including attending a sex offender program and no use of internet without approval. Failure to follow the conditions could result in 54 to 70 months in prison.