News Photo by Julie Riddle Christopher Olsen, who on Monday pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography, answers questions from attorney Matt Wojda in Alpena’s 26th Circuit Court.

ALPENA — Christopher Olsen, a former custodian at All Saints Catholic School, admitted on Monday to possessing and distributing child pornography.

A custodian at All Saints at the time of his arrest in January 2020, Olsen said in Alpena’s 26th Circuit Court that he was guilty of five counts of possession and distribution of child sexual abusive material and using a computer to commit a crime.

Olsen was terminated by the school on the day of his arrest.

As part of Olsen’s plea agreement, Montmorency County Prosecutor Vicki Kundinger agreed to not object to a recommendation of treatment or rehabilitation in place of further incarceration, according to Sherrie Collier, legal secretary for the Montmorency County Prosecutor’s Office.

Olsen has been lodged in the Alpena County Jail since his arrest.

Kundinger was appointed as prosecutor in Olsen’s case after Alpena County Prosecutor Cynthia Muszynski was disqualified from the case for unspecified reasons.

The plea agreement also includes an agreement that the court won’t impose consecutive sentences for the charges against Olsen.

Olsen was arrested after police were alerted by Dropbox — an online photo- and file-sharing service — that Olsen’s account included video and photographs containing child pornography, according to police reports obtained by The News through a Michigan Freedom of Information Act request.

When questioned by police, Olsen said he collected and traded child porn for the past decade, according to the reports.

A police computer crimes unit found thousands of suspected child porn images and child erotica on Olsen’s phone. The device also contained text messages in which Olsen shared child porn and offered to provide more, police reports said.

Olsen’s attorney called his client a valuable member of the community who has a problem.

“That problem, and his actions, have made him a felon and a sex offender,” Wojda said.

A recommendation of treatment instead of prison time “is our effort to tackle Chris’s problems at their root. We believe that, through treatment, Chris will be able to reform and our community will benefit as a result,” Wojda said.

The charges to which Olsen pleaded guilty carry a maximum possible sentence of 25 years.

Olsen is scheduled to be sentenced March 1.