A Fort Collins man has been sentenced to prison for creating and distributing sexually explicit material involving children.
Jediah Foster, now 37, was sentenced to 6 years in the Department of Corrections on Tuesday after previously pleading guilty to sexual exploitation of a child and sexual assault of a child in a position of trust, both Class 3 felonies.
Twenty-two other charges — 21 of which are felonies — were dismissed as part of a plea agreement with the 8th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. The plea agreement had stipulated a 4- to 12-year prison sentence.
Foster was also sentenced to 20 years to life of sex offender-intensive supervised probation, which he will serve when he is released from prison. He will also have to register as a sex offender.
Foster was arrested in November 2021 after police said he had taken sexually explicit pictures of children and distributed them online and was involved in “multiple situations involving inappropriate touching.” Police said at the time of his arrest they were concerned additional victims may exist based on Foster’s job providing in-home services and repairs, but no additional charges have been filed since his initial arrest.
Foster was arrested after he turned himself in to police, a choice he made to “really face what I was doing and own the consequences,” Foster said during his sentencing hearing.
“Taking responsibility for what I’ve done has really been the best choice of my life,” Foster said.
The court room was full of Foster’s supporters during his sentencing, and Foster thanked them for continuing to support him despite what he’s done.
“I’m sorry for letting you down but thank you for walking with me and being there to support me,” he said.
Deputy District Attorney Luke Birky called child pornography “a societal poison” that Foster has contributed to in asking Judge Sara Cure to sentence Foster to 12 years in prison. The exploitative material Foster created and distributed will “forever be out there,” Fort Collins police detective Dollie Knaab said.
“There’s harm here that can’t be undone,” Birky said.
Defense attorney Erik Fisher agreed with Birky that child exploitation is a poison but argued Foster should be sentenced to the least amount of prison possible so he can return to treatment. He said Foster has been successful in treatment and continuing that is “what is best for the world, that is what is best for society.”
Fisher said Foster is also a victim of child sexual abuse, something he never dealt with, and got caught in the cycle of abuse. Since turning himself in and starting treatment, Fisher said, Foster is trying to end that cycle.
“He’s a good guy. He had a terrible sickness,” Foster said. “And (prison) is not going to treat that sickness.”
Cure called Foster “an anomaly” for turning himself in “with no obligation to do that.”
“That tells me, Mr. Foster, that you have genuine remorse, you have an authentic desire to be rehabilitated,” Cure said.
But Cure also said what he has done is “abhorrent,” and this prison sentence is meant to punish him for that, acknowledging that his time in prison might set back his treatment and “will be very difficult.”
“I hope this is healing for everyone, including you,” Cure said.