photo by: Douglas County Sheriff's Office

Charles R. Tingler Jr., pictured in September 2019

A Lawrence man who reportedly told police he viewed child pornography not for arousal but “as a form of art” pleaded no contest to a lesser charge Tuesday in Douglas County District Court.

Charles R. Tingler Jr., 46, was initially charged Sept. 17 with two counts of sexual exploitation of a child. He also faced a charge in a separate case for alleged interference with law enforcement at the time his arrest warrant was served.

In the plea agreement Tuesday, Tingler pleaded no contest to one count of a lesser charge, attempted sexual exploitation of a child. Prosecutor Cathy Eaton agreed to drop the second case.

Tingler has three or more person felonies in his criminal history, meaning that under Kansas law he faces the most severe category of sentences the judge can impose.

Tingler’s appointed defense attorney, Joshua Seiden, said he and Eaton had agreed to recommend a 32-month prison sentence for Tingler. That’s two years and eight months, of which Tingler has served almost two months since his September arrest. Seiden said Tingler would not seek a shortened sentence or probation rather than prison.

But judges are not bound by plea agreements, and Douglas County District Court Chief Judge Peggy Kittel could choose to impose a 30- or 34-month sentence.

Tingler must also register as a sex offender for 25 years.

A woman called police in June 2016 after finding child pornography on devices Tingler owned, according to the police affidavit supporting Tingler’s arrest.

In an interview with police on Oct. 28, 2016, Tingler reportedly said he had used the devices to search for “non nude preteen” models, and that he “equated the access of the imagery to an appreciation for the imagery as a form of art or curiosity.” He denied accessing the images for sexual arousal, the affidavit says.

“Charles mentioned a curiosity in models that had been ‘followed’ over the course of their lives from the time they were ‘young’ to the age of adulthood,” the affidavit says. One such victim, a 12- or 13-year-old girl, was identified in the images on Tingler’s devices, Eaton said in court Tuesday.

Tingler’s sentencing is set for Dec. 13. Because his sentence is presumed to be prison, Kittel said he would be held in custody without bond.

Seiden declined to comment pending sentencing.