Former Enumclaw store owner Michael Lissy recently pleaded guilty to viewing images of Child Sexual Abuse Material, colloquially known as child pornography.

Lissy, 69, was arrested in November 2022 and was charged with four counts of first degree possession of CSAM and one count of communication with a minor for immoral purposes. He pleaded not guilty in early December.

According to police reports and court documents, law enforcement was alerted by Google that CSAM material involving children and young teenagers was uploaded to Google Drive via an alias, but the device’s IP number was associated with Lissy, who ran The Sequel bookstore in Enumclaw before it closed and sold to new owners.

Lissy admitted to officers that he was the holder of the Google account and added that he had an Instagram which he used to communicate with at least one person; Lissy believed they were a 14-year old girl, and their conversations were of a sexual nature.

Lissy pleaded guilty on Oct. 1 to one count of first degree viewing depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct instead of continuing with a Oct. 16-scheduled court date.

Court documents show the plea deal came around in part because Lissy has no criminal history and that some “evidentiary problems” made convictions on some of the original charges doubtful; the plea still secures a felony sex conviction, a sex offender registration, community custody, and a psychosexual evaluation and treatment.

The standard sentencing range for the conviction is three to nine months incarceration and three years of probation (also known as community custody).

However, prosecutors and the defense are recommending 48 months of probation. It’s unclear why; “A longer term of community custody supervision is appropriate here,” Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney Office’s PIO Adam Faber said by way of explanation.

Despite the lesser conviction, being sentences of a felony means Lissy cannot possess or own a firearm or be able to vote, and he will have to register as a sex offender.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 6.