Twenty-one year old Keegan Joe Gingerich of Kalona has entered a plea of guilty to one charge of Purchasing or Possessing a Depiction of a Minor in a Sex Act, First Offense, a Class D Felony. 

Gingerich faced nine total charges, six of them felonies, including Sexual Exploitation of a Minor-Cause to Engage in Act, a Class B Felony, Stalking A Person Under 18 Years of Age, a Class C Felony, Stalking Using a Technological Device, a Class C Felony, and three counts of Invasion of Privacy, all Aggravated Misdemeanors. According to court documents outlining a plea deal, the other eight charges will be dismissed. All charges stem from incidents that according to court documents filed in February of this year, the charges stem from a Washington County Sheriff’s Office investigation that alleges, Gingerich unlawfully stalked a minor, under the age of 18, by purposely and strategically placing holes in walls to discreetly view and record that person without their knowledge or consent on multiple occasions. 

Gingerich will serve a five-year sentence with no minimum, have to register as a sex offender for the next ten years, and have a five-year no contact order. The sentencing hearing has been scheduled for December 12th in the Washington County Courthouse.