A high-ranking state judge who oversaw administrative appeals was sentenced to more than three years in state prison Thursday after pleading guilty earlier to possessing images of child sexual abuse.
John Mann, the now-fired chief administrative law judge, lost a bid for probation only.
Defense attorney Lawrence Taylor wrote in a sentencing memo that Mann entered a voluntary rehabilitative program for sexual offenses two days before police raided his home March 10, 2022, and had been given a favorable prognosis “especially if his treatment is not interrupted by a term of incarceration.”
Mann, 58, also passed a polygraph test where he denied having sexual contact with minors, the defense attorney wrote.
“It is unfortunate, even tragic, that (Mann) did not recognize the self-destructive and ultimately criminal path in which he was headed when he first suffered a personal and professional loss as a result of his sex addiction,” Taylor wrote. “This is the rule, however, and not the exception for the downward spiral of addiction.”
Mann admitted guilt to all 10 counts of first-degree encouraging child sex abuse without a plea deal in place, meaning he was hoping for leniency.
In the bid for probation, his attorney cited two separate cases in which Washington County Circuit Judge Andrew Erwin had given probation to attorneys who were also convicted of possessing explicit content of children.
District Attorney Kevin Barton said prosecutor Christopher Lewman called for a punishment involving prison time in court, but didn’t specify the length of the sentence.
Erwin opted for a prison sentence of three years and two months.
— Zane Sparling; zsparling@oregonian.com; 503-319-7083; @pdxzane
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