Former Tenn. officer sentenced in child porn case

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A judge has sentenced a former Greeneville police officer who pleaded guilty to a child porn charge to 39 months in prison.

Media outlets report that Herbert Eugene Miller was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Greenville. He pleaded guilty in November to possession of child pornography. He had faced up to 10 years in prison.

He was accused of downloading more than 80 images of children to a laptop computer in a police patrol car. Court documents show that another officer notified a supervisor after finding questionable search terms on the computer.

Judge J. Ronnie Greer said he didn’t give Miller a harsher sentence because it appeared to be an “isolated incident.”

But he also considered that he abused a position of public trust, which “undermines the public respect for law enforcement.”

“It’s such an incredibly stupid thing to do,” Greer said.

Miller apologized for his actions during the hearing.

“I don’t know why Mr. Miller did this and frankly, I’m not sure if he knows why he did this,” Miller’s lawyer, Ben Sharp, told the judge.