Harold Fetzer Pleads Guilty to Sexual Exploitation - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

A Mandan man pleads guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of child pornography.

Harold Fetzer changed his plea on the federal charges this afternoon in U.S. District Court in Bismarck.

Fetzer took sexually explicit pictures of a girl he described as being like a "grandchild".

Fetzer and his wife had been babysitting the girl since she was 3 months old.

The abuse started when the girl was five.

She is now 10 years old.

Fetzer admitted to taking naked pictures of the girl and touching her private area.

Law enforcement officers were conducting an investigation on peer to peer sites when Fetzer's IP address came up as downloading child porn.

Authorities found over two thousand child porn images and videos on Fetzer's computer.

That includes pornographic pictures of the Mandan girl.

Authorities say it is not known at this time if Fetzer shared those images with others.

Fetzer says he is "ashamed" by what he did.

He faces up to 40 years in prison.

Fetzer will be sentenced in March.