MARIETTA – Kevin R. Davis, 43, of 1619 California Ridge Road, Belleville, was sentenced to 30 days plus three years of community control Thursday in Washington County Common Pleas Court after pleading guilty to a fifth-degree felony charge of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material.

Davis pleaded guilty in June, nearly a year after he was found with a nude photo of a girl just days before she turned 18.

The two have been married since February.

“This case is about Mr. Davis having a nude photo of his fiancee,” said defense attorney George Cosenza. “She is now his wife, and they are happily married.”

According to the Washington County Prosecutor’s Office, Davis was being arrested on unrelated charges in September 2014 when an officer noticed him trying to conceal his phone.

Upon obtaining a search warrant for it, officers found nude photos of a girl who was discovered to be just shy of turning 18.

Cosenza stated that he disagreed with the findings in Davis’ pre-sentence investigation report, which made note of unrelated charges. Last September, officers were looking to arrest Davis on compelling prostitution charges, but the charges have since been dropped.

“These were all charges that were dropped by the prosecutor,” Cosenza said. “And we deny the truthfulness of them.”

Common Pleas Judge Ed Lane clarified in court that the photo was taken willingly by the victim, and was not taken by Davis.

Davis’ wife wrote a letter to the court, stating that she felt the crime was victimless, and that she was grateful to have Davis in her life and that he did not deserve to be punished.

She claimed in the letter that it was she who took the photos, not him, and that he had only received them on his phone.

“I don’t think any incarceration at all is appropriate,” Cosenza said.

Under the sentence, Davis will be required to register as a Tier I sex offender, the lowest level, which requires annual verification for 10 years.

Because he is a West Virginia resident, he will be under the supervision of West Virginia authorities while he is under community control and when he must reverify his address and other registration information.

“I just want to apologize to the court,” Davis said. “It’s an embarrassing situation altogether.”

Davis will be ordered to pay court costs within three years.