JONESBORO -- The former pastor of a Craighead County church pleaded guilty in Craighead County Circuit Court to possessing child pornography and received three years of probation, Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington said.
John Mark Wilson, 46, former pastor of the Brookland Church of Christ, pleaded guilty to distributing, possessing and viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child.
Circuit Judge Victor Hill accepted the plea and gave Wilson 36 months of supervised probation.
Ellington said the state didn't offer a negotiated plea, but Wilson decided to plead guilty to the charges Tuesday.
Police arrested Wilson in April 2015 after they found five pornographic images on his computer taken from his Brookland home. He became the Brookland Church of Christ's minister in October 2007. He also was pastor of churches in Jonesboro and Hayti, Mo., between 1997 and 2003.
State Desk on 09/03/2016