Request made at man’s sentencing hearing

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

An out-of-state man convicted of child pornography charges locally made a rather unusual request at his sentencing hearing Wednesday morning.

Timothy Kiester, 61, of Berrien Springs, Michigan, asked Van Wert County Common Pleas Court Judge Martin D. Burchfield give him the death penalty rather than prison time.

“People in jail (the Van Wert County Correctional Facility) going to prison already know about my charges and they’ll probably take care of it there,” Kiester stated after making the unexpected request.

Judge Burchfield informed Kiester that the death penalty wasn’t an option and sentenced him to five to 7.5 years for pandering obscenity involving a minor or impaired person, a second degree felony; 18 months on a separate charge of pandering obscenity involving a minor or impaired person, a fourth degree felony, and 12 months in prison for illegal use of a minor or impaired person in nudity-oriented material or performance, a fifth degree felony. The sentences were ordered to run concurrently and Kiester was ordered to pay court costs. He was given credit for 70 already served on a separate set of charges.

In addition, per Ohio law, he was labeled as a Tier II sex offender, meaning he’ll be required to register his address every 180 days for 25 years.

Kiester entered a guilty plea to the charges in April and in exchange, 12 other charges were dismissed. He was originally charged with three counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor or impaired person, second degree felonies; three other counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor or impaired person, fourth degree felonies; three counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor, second degree felonies; three separate counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor, fourth degree felonies, and three counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity oriented material, fifth degree felonies.

The charges were handed down by a Van Wert County grand jury indictment in March. The material that led to the charges was found on Kiester’s cell phone, which being checked by Ohio State Highway Patrol investigators to see if he was texting while driving during an October, 2024 fatal crash on U.S. 127 near Hickory Sticks Golf Club in Van Wert. Investigators found no evidence of texting while driving, but they found the explicit images.

Kiester was behind the wheel of a 2016 Cheverolet Silverado that was hauling a camper and failed to maintain assured clear distance ahead. His truck struck the rear of a 2016 Ford Focus driven by Zachary J. Wood, 30, of Convoy. The impact forced Wood’s car into the path of a semi-truck. Wood and a passenger, Logan G. Elder, 29, of Van Wert, were pronounced dead at the scene.

In January of this year, Kiester pleaded no contest to two counts of vehicular manslaughter, both second degree misdemeanors. In late February, he was sentenced by Van Wert Municipal Court Judge Jill T. Worthington to 90 days in the Van Wert County Correctional Facility on each count, but the sentences were ordered to run concurrently. His driver’s license was suspended for two years and he fined $750 on each of the two counts of vehicular manslaughter, and was fined an additional $150 on a single count of assured clear distance.