SANDPOINT — A Bonner County resident charged with sexual exploitation of a minor has pleaded guilty during an arraignment hearing Tuesday.   

During a hearing set for an arraignment, Christopher Van Essen pleaded guilty to felony injury to child to charges stemming from an early July incident. As part of a pretrial settlement, four felony counts of child sexual exploitation will be dismissed without prejudice.  

Van Essen entered the guilty plea free from shackles due to posting a $55,000 bond in early August.  

He is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 9 and faces up to 10 years in prison for willfully permitting a child to suffer psychological harm.  

Police officials became aware of the crime via a 911 call when Walmart employees shared their concerns of an erotic image that had been printed out at one of their photo stations.  

Through investigative measures, officials were able to identify Van Essen as the man who printed the photo of a group of naked prepubescent children.   

When questioned about the images, Van Essen told officials that he obtained the image via an online website that photographed naked individuals doing mundane, everyday things.  

Van Essen allegedly told police officials that “what he thought” when looking at the images was “only in his mind” and that he “never does anything in real life.”   

A search through Van Essen’s phone showed hundreds of downloaded pictures from the website, several of which included erotic file names and disturbing captions.