Donilo Phillip Colich

20-year-old pleads guilty for attempted sexual exploitation of a minor

A UA student has pled guilty to charges of downloading child pornography and sharing the material over the Internet while he lived in a campus residence hall last fall, officials said.

Donilo Phillip Colich, 20, was charged with one count of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor under 15, a class 2 felony, according to UAPD Sgt. Eugene Mejia.

Colich, originally indicted on 11 counts, received 10 years of probation last week, which includes no access to children and the Internet. He will also have to register as a sex offender, said Assistant County Attorney Kathleen Mayer.

On Nov. 12, 2002, an unknown person from Switzerland notified the UA webmaster that Colich had been using the KaZaA file-sharing program to download child pornography in his room in the Manzanita-Mohave Residence Hall, 1010 N. Park Ave.

The webmaster notified the computer management division on campus, which was able to trace the files back to an IP address that corresponded to Colich's computer.

UAPD confronted Colich at the residence hall, where he admitted to downloading child pornography, Mejia said.

According to reports, Colich estimated that he had between 35 to 70 different child pornography files on his computer.

He also claimed that he had not intended to find children under the age of 13, and that he had been looking for females.

Colich also admitted to having child pornography on a computer at his parents' home in California, reports stated.

An FBI computer forensics team examined Colich's personal computer and found more than 20 child pornography video files and still photographs.

Mayer said she did not know if California district attorneys were pursuing charges, and that she believes UAPD's use of computer forensics was a big help in the case.

"I'd like to compliment the UAPD for conducting such a good investigation. We've benefited from their sophisticated computer system in this case and in the past," she said.

Before Colich entered into a plea agreement, he faced between five and 10 years in prison or lifetime probation, Mayer said.

Additionally, Colich will be designated a Level 1, 2 or 3 sex offender, Mejia said.

Mayer said she believes Colich will be registered as a Level 1 sex offender and will have to participate in a sex offender program.

Mayer said Colich did not receive prison time because there was no evidence of actual molestation of a child.

"There is no strong correlation between molesting and viewing pornography," Mayer stated.

According to Mejia, registering as a sex offender is a stigma that sticks with a person. As a registered sex offender, Colich will be required to register with local authorities whenever he moves.

"The convictions and penalties for this type of crime will follow you for the rest of your life," he said.

Mejia said downloading child pornography is "a serious offense with serious consequences."

He said perpetrators will often pay consequences they did not think about while downloading the material, such as having to register as a sex offender.

UAPD detective Rolf Averill said downloading child pornography through programs like KaZaA can be addicting.

"They don't realize that these are real people, real victims," he said.

The UA Registrar's office confirmed that Colich is registered for classes this semester.

Dean of Students Melissa Vito said she was unsure what her office would do about Colich now that he has pled guilty to downloading child pornography on campus.