SMETHPORT — Daniel Merrick’s claims that he was downloading child pornography for an investigation into the abuses of Ukrainian children were rejected, and instead he was sentenced to serve more than three years in state prison.

Merrick, 67, was sentenced to 46 to 92 months in state prison with three years of consecutive probation.

He had sought to withdraw his guilty plea for possessing child pornography. A hearing was held Friday in McKean County Court in which Merrick, with attorney Mario Medina of Erie, was tasked with proving his claims of assisting with an investigation. According to District Attorney Stephanie Vettenburg-Shaffer, no such evidence was provided.

The prosecution called Trooper Robert Whyel of the Computer Crimes Division of the Pennsylvania State Police to testify. He was an investigator on the case.

Shaffer said, “Whyel testified that, when he and a corporal interviewed Merrick, Merrick told them that he and his wife had not been intimate in years, that he began to search for pornography including anime pornography, and he had developed a curiosity in child pornography.”

Whyel said Merrick told them he had searched for child pornography for two months and that he would seek help from a therapist for his addiction. Whyel said Merrick told him that he never touched a child and that it was only a fantasy, Shaffer said.

As part of the sentence, Merrick was ordered to submit a DNA sample and register as a sex offender. He is not eligible for any early parole programs. He was remanded to jail immediately after sentencing.

Merrick had pleaded guilty to possessing 698 images/videos of children with 499 of those also depicting indecent contact. At a sentencing hearing in May, Merrick, who has alleged that he is a pastor, told the judge that he only possessed the pornography as part of an investigation he had undertaken for law enforcement into Ukrainian and Russian children who are victims of child pornography. The sentencing was rescheduled to last week to allow for a full hearing to present evidence of any such investigation.

A Christian musician, self-proclaimed pastor and former Bradford store owner and landlord, Merrick was arrested in February 2023 after a Cybertip was made to State Police Computer Crimes alleging eight images and one video of child pornography were traced back to his cell phone, according to the criminal complaint.

Upon investigation, state police found more than 800 images of child pornography on Merrick’s cellphone, the complaint alleged. He had originally faced 885 counts of child pornography, which were combined into two counts, both second-degree felonies.

The criminal complaint indicated Merrick told state police he began viewing pornography due to marital issues, which led to a “two-month curiosity in child pornography.” He told police that he had an addiction and would seek help, the complaint read.