An Oak Harbor man who accidentally sent child pornography to a stranger was recently sent to prison.

Roderick R. Balos, 38, pleaded guilty in Island County Superior Court to two counts of possession of child pornography. A judge last month sentenced him to two years and 10 months in prison.

Police started investigating Balos in May 2018 after a man reported to police that Balos sent him an image of child porn over Facebook, according to the police report. The man had contacted Balos because he was interested in purchasing a tool bag and automobile-related items.

Balos sent the man several images of automobile fluid followed by a child porn image, the report states.

Police executed a search warrant and found child pornography on Balos’ phone, including an image that may have been of a child Balos had contact with.

Balos admitted to police that he possessed and looked at child porn, saying that it happened because he started using methamphetamine again.

After police investigated him, Balos reported that his wife allegedly shot herself and died in a woods.

In the pre-sentence investigation, Balos tried to blame his deceased wife for the child porn on his phone, court documents state. He told the investigator that there are people in prison waiting to “take him out” because of what happened to his wife.

The 34-month sentence was the maximum under the standard sentencing range.