A discussion re-emerged this week after a plea hearing for retired United South Central educator John Degner, who was found with several hundred images and videos of child pornography in March.

The discussion has centered on Minnesota’s sentencing guidelines for sex offenders, namely those convicted of crimes involving child pornography.

Degner, who retired as the school’s technology director in spring 2016, on Monday pleaded guilty in Faribault County District Court to two counts of possessing child pornography. He initially faced five additional counts of possessing child pornography and two counts of disseminating child pornography.

One count of child pornography for someone who had worked in a school is horrific enough, but authorities said they found a flash drive in Degner’s bedroom that had a combination of at least 500 videos and images of child pornography. A preliminary search of his laptop found images of child pornography involving boys ages 7 to 14. Police previously stated the images were not tied to students at the USC school.

Though Degner has not yet been sentenced, he is expected to be placed on probation, and if he completes his probation successfully, his conviction will be deemed a misdemeanor.

This is difficult for many to understand — how someone with several hundred images and videos of child pornography in his possession could eventually walk away from this situation with a misdemeanor, a small reminder of his actions.

We encourage the Minnesota Legislature to revisit the sentencing guidelines on these cases.

Remember the poor children who were used in the production of the images and videos and how with each viewing, those who produce this appalling material are incentivized to further their industry.

Child pornography is not a victimless crime.