COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – A Bronson man is headed to prison after being sentenced in a child pornography case.
Branch County Circuit Judge Zach Stempien sentenced 38-year-old David Slaybaugh to 25 months to 25 years in the Michigan Department of Corrections after denying the defendant’s request for a reduced sentence.
The sentencing follows Slaybaugh’s guilty plea in September to aggravated possession of child sexually abusive material.
In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dismissed four other felony charges, including additional child sexually abusive activity and computer-use offenses.
The conviction stems from a targeted Michigan State Police cybercrime investigation that successfully traced illegal BitTorrent downloads directly to his residence, culminating in his arrest earlier this year in May.
The illicit activity was initially flagged between December 2025 and the time of his arrest, prompting law enforcement to execute a search warrant at Slaybaugh’s home.
During the raid, authorities seized multiple external drives and electronic devices that contained tens of thousands of illicit images and videos.
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