MANKATO — A Mankato man is to serve just over five years in prison for possession of child pornography.
Roger Myron Yarger, 59, was sentenced Monday in Blue Earth County District Court to 67 months in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of possession on a computer.
Seven similar counts were dismissed; court documents say Yarger’s sentence length is a departure from the guidelines. State guidelines for the crime, for defendants with little or no criminal history, call for sentences of about 30 months.
Investigators used a search warrant to seize Yarger’s phones on Jan. 18, 2024, a criminal complaint states. They reported finding text-message conversations between Yarger and an unnamed person offering up a minor for sex. The person reportedly responded to an online ad placed by Yarger.
He will serve time at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in St. Cloud and be on conditional release for five years after that. He has earned credit for 481 days served.
Yarger was previously charged with felonies for describing sexual conduct with a child and distributing sexual material to a child in Freeborn County.