The case of a Pinellas County puppeteer accused of a bizarre plot to murder and eat a child appears to have netted the suspect jail time.



According to Bay News 9's partner newspaper the Tampa Bay Times, Ronald William Brown of Largo has signed an agreement to plead guilty in federal court to possessing and receiving child pornography.



The charges likely will result in between 6 1/2 to 10 years in prison.



But it is not nearly as long as he would have received if he would have been formally charged with plotting to kidnap a child.

Arrest records showed Brown had conversations with another man about picking out a boy at his church to kill. But the federal grand jury found insufficient evidence to bring a conspiracy charge against him.



Officials said there had been no evidence presented that Brown actually did directly harm a child. Besides that, legal experts said, merely writing down extremely distasteful thoughts is not a crime.



Once Brown appears in front of a federal judge, sentencing will be determined.



Under the plea agreement, Brown also agreed to give up his Dell laptop, a Sony camera, a thumb drive, a cellphone, 63 CDs or DVDs and 30 books. He also would have to register as a sex offender.



