YOUNGSTOWN — Ryan N. Marenkovic, 45, sold two cellphones at a pawn shop — one belonging to him and one belonging to Robert A. Basic, 44.

But when a pawn shop employee started removing the photos on the phones to prepare them for resale, he saw child pornography on both of them.

It led to a phone call to Austintown police, which investigated. Police found illicit images on Markenkovic’s phone and “a lot” of illicit images on Basic’s phone, Steve Yacovone, assistant county prosecutor, told Judge R. Scott Krichbaum Wednesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

Investigators then executed search warrants at the homes of Basic and Marenkovic, finding no other images in Marenkovic’s home but “hundreds and hundreds” of images on a computer at the home where Basic lived with his parents, Yacovone said.

Basic pleaded guilty Monday to 20 counts of pandering obsenity involving a minor, and prosecutors will recommend he get seven years in prison. He will be classified a sex offender and will have to register his address with the sheriff’s office for 25 years. His sentencing is set for Jan. 20.

Marenkovic pleaded guilty Wednesday to two of the seven counts he faced. Prosecutors recommended he get nine months in prison and credit for 114 days he has alredy spent in the Mahoning County jail.

Krichbaum agreed and signed off on the sentence. Marenkovic also will have to register as a sex offender for 25 years.

Yacovone noted that Marenkovic has no felony record, with a misdemeanor conviction 17 years ago, and his misconduct pales in comparison to that of Basic.

“Basic was the one we were very concerned about in this case,” Yacovone said.

Before Krichbaum sentenced Marenkovic, his attorney, Lou DeFabio, said Marenkovic was “very cooperative with authorities, speaking with investigators for about six hours.”

Marenkovic also spoke to Krichbaum, saying he is “not a bad person,” but “got caught up in a bad moment.”

Marenkovic said he is a “God-fearing Christian, and I grew up in a good family, and none of them thought this was me for a second.”

The judge called the crime of possessing child pornography “as disgusting as any there could possibly be,” and he finds it “distasteful” to give Marenkovic only a nine-month prison sentence.

But Yacovone did a good job of explaining the difference between what Basic and Marenkovic did, Krichbaum said.

“I’m a God guy too, so I thank God that I don’t understand how anybody could do this,” Krichbaum said.

erunyan@tribtoday.com