Election Section

MILWAUKEE — A man who was turned in by “Dear Abby” after asking for advice on dealing with his child sex fantasies pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography this week and was given eight years on probation. 

Paul Weiser, 28, had faced up to 15 years in prison and a $30,000 fine had he been convicted. 

Weiser was arrested in March after “Dear Abby” columnist Jeanne Phillips contacted Milwaukee police about the letter in which Weiser described fantasizing about having sex with girls, including his girlfriend’s two young daughters. 

Weiser was also placed on a year of electronic monitoring, ordered to undergo counseling and banned from contact with anyone under 18. 

“I’m very pleased that he will get the help that he needs and the help that he sought,” Phillips said in a telephone interview Tuesday. “I certainly hope that he heals. I believe in happy endings and I certainly hope that this story has one.” 

Phillips had said she agonized over her decision because the column’s credibility is based on the anonymity of those seeking her advice. She said at the time that turning Weiser in was “the only way I could be absolutely certain that the little girls would be safe.” 

Police said they found 40 pornographic photographs of children on Weiser’s computer equipment. 

According to court papers, Weiser said that he has been sexually attracted to young girls since he was 16 and that four doctors told him he did not have a problem. 

“I was quite frustrated, being unemployed and having these feelings. I didn’t know who to contact,” Weiser said in court Tuesday. “I needed help from wherever I could and that’s when I wrote to Dear Abby.”