The North Dakota Supreme Court has turned down an application for post-conviction relief from James Richard Kremer, 41, Minot, who had asked to withdraw his guilty plea to three counts of Class C felony possession of child pornography.

North Central District Court Judge Doug Mattson sentenced Kremer in February 2016 to two five-year sentences, consecutive to each other, and a suspended three-year sentence, consecutive to the first two sentences, and three years of probation.

Kremer was charged in federal court and had faced a 15-year sentence. He came to an agreement with federal prosecutors, who let him plead guilty to the charges in state court, where he received the less severe sentence.

Kremer had claimed in his Supreme Court appeal that he received inadequate representation from his defense attorney and the court “did not inform Kremer of the possibility of restitution, did not insure that Kremer’s plea was voluntary, did not obtain a factual basis for the plea, and did not get any acknowledgment by (Kremer) regarding the facts.” An evidentiary hearing was held and the district court rejected his appeal. Kremer then appealed to the Supreme Court, which rejected his claims.