This from WNDU.com: MIAMI COUNTY, IN (WNDU) – A judge has sentenced the Miami County man who admitted to using the fake “anthony_shots” online profile used to solicit underage girls to 40 years in prison.
According to our sister station WTHR, Kegan Kline will also serve three years of probation as part of his sentence, which was handed down Thursday evening by Judge Timothy Spahr.
Kline pleaded guilty back in March to 25 charges — including child pornography, child exploitation, and obstruction of justice. He can’t appeal the conviction because he pleaded guilty, but he can appeal sentence — which he reportedly told Spahr he plans to do.
Kline was scheduled to be sentenced back in May, but Spahr granted a continuance requested by Kline’s defense team. In requesting the continuance, Kline’s defense team claimed he needed time to review evidence he hasn’t seen because he may want to withdraw his guilty plea based on that evidence.
Later that month, it was announced that two new attorneys would represent Kline after his former attorney filed a motion to no longer represent him. The new attorneys informed the court that Kline did not intend to withdraw his guilty plea.
Previously, Kline told Spahr he thinks he is bipolar and schizophrenic, but he was able to make the clear decision to plead guilty. Spahr walked Kline through each charge to make sure he understood what he was pleading guilty to.
After pleading guilty, Kline gave sworn testimony in which he admitted receiving sexual photos of girls under 18, as well as having pornographic images of girls under 12 years old. He also admitted to using the “anthony_shots” account to contact his victims.
Kline has long been associated with the Delphi murders case, as police claimed the “anthony_shots” account was the last to communicate with Libby German and Abby Williams before they were killed in February 2017. However, he has never been named as a person of interest or suspect.
According to WTHR, Kline read a prepared statement while crying at Thursday’s sentencing. “I was in a deep state of depression and shut in my house. I wish I would have made choices to get a high school diploma and driver’s license. I made fake profiles because of my loneliness.” Kline went on to say, “I knew it was wrong. I never left the house. I never had any intention of meeting anyone. I take full responsibility. I apologize to everyone, sorry to each and every victim.”
Kline also apologized to the man whose photos he used for the “anthony_shots” account. Those photos were reportedly of Vincent Kowalski, a police officer who said the photos he took in high school have been stolen and used by online scammers for years.
Kline will have to register as a violent sexual offender when he is released from prison.
