Michael James Hauser - "You should be ashamed of yourself"

You did something that can only be described as despicable

Judge Scott Schofield said Michael James Hauser, 62, of Sioux Trail, should be ashamed of himself.

Hauser was sentenced to 210 days in jail for two counts of possession of child sexually abusive materials Nov. 16 in Niles. Hauser must serve the first 90 days in jail and can serve the remainder on tether.

Hauser also was placed on five years probation and ordered to pay $4,080 in fees, fines and costs. He must register as a sex offender, not possess or own a computer or camera, have no contact with anyone age 17 or younger and not be within 1,000 feet of a school or park.

Assistant Prosecutor Kelly Travis said the child pornography images on Hauser's computer were discovered by his son who asked him to turn himself into local police.

"He is acknowledging he has a problem, that he has an addiction to pornography," Travis said before Hauser's sentencing. "It has cost him his marriage and maybe his freedom."

Hauser's attorney, Shannon Sible, said his client has "gotten his head around to the fact that he has a problem" and is getting counseling for it.

For his part, Hauser said he felt extreme shame for his actions in downloading 131 child pornography images.

"It's good to feel ashamed and you should be ashamed," Judge Schofield said. "You did something that can only be described as despicable. If there were no market for child pornography, there would be no children victimized by child pornographers."

"Studies have shown that children forced to perform sexual acts suffer problems then and later in life," he said. "They are more prone to substance abuse and less likely to have healthy relationships with others."

"So, you should be ashamed, but shame is a useless feeling unless you use it to take steps to make sure it doesn't happen again," he said.

"Everybody makes mistakes, you're never too old to make mistakes and you made a big one," he said. "But you can recover. It takes acceptance and commitment to not make the same mistake again."

Schofield's sentence to have no contact with children and youth and not be near schools would seem to preclude Hauser from further direct participation in Niles High School Drama Club activities. In October, the drama club performed a play Hauser wrote called "Vampires at the Mall."