photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

The Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center is pictured in March of 2022. The center houses the Douglas County District Court and other county services.

A Lawrence man pleaded no contest on Thursday in Douglas County District Court to two child pornography-related crimes.

Rich Anthony Dibenedetto, 31, was charged with two felonies: one was exploitation of a child by possessing a photograph of a child in the nude, and the other was internet trading in child pornography. On Thursday, Judge Sally Pokorny accepted Dibenedetto’s no contest plea on both of those charges.

Even though the offenses Dibenedetto was charged with did not change, Dibenedetto’s plea was part of a plea agreement with the state. The terms of the agreement have to do with what the state will do at his sentencing, according to Senior Assistant District Attorney Ricardo Leal.

Dibenedetto’s convictions fall into the “border box” category on the Kansas sentencing guidelines, and it is up to the judge to determine if Dibenedetto will be sentenced to prison or to three years of probation. Leal said that under the agreement, the state will recommend a total sentence of just over five years in prison but will not object if Dibenedetto is sentenced to probation instead.

Pokorny said Thursday that Dibenedetto should be aware that she is not required to grant him probation, regardless of what the state or his attorney, Angela Keck, may recommend. She scheduled Dibenedetto to be sentenced on July 26.

Pokorny also said that Dibenedetto would be required to register as a sex offender for 25 years.

The incident in which Dibenedetto was charged is alleged to have occurred on Oct. 25, 2021, and he was arrested in July of 2023, as the Journal-World reported. Dibenedetto has been free on a $10,000 own-recognizance bond since shortly after his arrest.