VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – A Valley City man charged with five counts of possession of certain materials prohibited entered a guilty plea during a hearing on Monday, October 20th.

Mitchell Kohler had previously pleaded not guilty to all five counts in a June hearing. The 50-year-old was arrested after Apple Inc. discovered suspected child sex abuse material on his account in March 2024 and reported it to authorities. Following a search warrant executed in April 2025, investigators found hundreds of child sex abuse files on Kohler’s devices, including images and videos of girls ages 8-14, according to court documents.

A sentence hearing for Kohler is set for Monday, January 26th before Southeast Judicial District Judge Nicholas Thornton.