Timothy Kelley: Denver Cop Convicted Of Possessing Child Porn But Avoids Jail Time

Timothy Kelley was caught with child porn videos on his home computer, but the Denver police officer has managed to avoid jail time in a sentencing decision that has caused controversy.

The 50-year-old Kelley received a four-year deferred sentence this week when he appeared in Adams County District Court. He had already pleaded guilty in April to felony sexual exploitation of a child after investigators found seven child porn videos on his computer.

As the Denver Post explained, Timothy Kelley was able to avoid going to jail despite the felony convictions.

“Kelley, who had been a Denver police officer since 1995, resigned shortly after the department became aware of the investigation. He worked for years as a crime scene investigator, but before his arrest he was a patrol officer in the Montbello neighborhood.”

“As part of the deferred sentence Kelley must stay out of trouble for four years, as well as meet probationary requirements, including treatment and counseling. He was ordered to pay fines and fees of $5,638.50, according to court records.”

The story went beyond Denver when it was shared on Reddit, where it drew some strong reactions against Kelley.

“So monopoly needs to change their ‘get out of jail free’ card to a ‘become a cop’ card,” wrote one commenter.

The case is reminiscent of another apparent failure of the justice system. Last week, a son of two prominent judges in Australia was able to avoid jail time despite being convicted of possessing more than 10,000 images of extreme child abuse, which reportedly included bestiality and torture.

Robert Emmett is the son of NSW Court of Appeal judge Arthur Emmett and Federal Circuit Court judge Sylvia Emmett and grandson of Chief Justice of the NSW Supreme Court Sir Laurence Street, which many people believed played a large role in his light sentence.

Prosecutors said the offenses were worse given Emmett’s occupation.

“In my view it is a significant aggravating feature that the offender was a school teacher,” said District Court judge Ian McClintock.

Emmett was also accused of taking pictures of school children, and some students described him as a predator.

“When I think back on his behavior, he was often looking up the stairs as we walked up and down, and hanging around us too closely at lunch times,” the victim told the court.

But despite the strong words from prosecutors, a judge decided Robert Emmett was remorseful and had already “lost his career,” so he didn’t need to be in jail.

Denver police officer Timothy Kelley didn’t get off entirely after his child porn conviction. He must meet probationary requirements for the next four years, including treatment, and must pay fines of more than $5,600.

[Image via Getty Images]