VALLEY CITY, N.D. (Valley News Live) – A Barnes County man was sentenced Wednesday to prison for possessing child sex abuse material, including AI-generated images of girls from his own community.

Mitchell Kohler was sentenced to five years in prison on each of four counts of possession of certain materials prohibited, with the sentences running consecutively. He is required to first serve one year on each count — a minimum of four years — before becoming eligible for release. A fifth count carries a five-year suspended sentence.

Judge Nicholas Thornton handed down the sentence Wednesday in Barnes County District Court. Kohler received credit for two days already served.

Upon release, Kohler will serve three years of supervised probation on each count, running concurrently. He is also required to register as a sex offender and pay more than $5,500 in fines and fees. Restitution remains open for 60 days.

Kohler 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 his devices, including images and videos of girls ages 8 to 14.

Kohler admitted to investigators that he used artificial intelligence to create nude photos and videos of teenage girls from his community, using images he found on their Instagram accounts.

Kohler initially pleaded not guilty in June 2025 before changing his plea to guilty on all five counts in October 2025.