The former owner of Max’s Mexican Eatery in Hickory was sentenced to 50 years in prison and will have to forfeit his home to the federal government for producing child pornography.

Kelly Lee Setzer, 64, of Hickory, was sentenced in U.S. District Court on Tuesday to spend 50 years in federal prison, U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson's office said in a news release.

Setzer pleaded guilty, on Dec. 5, 2024, to four counts of production of child pornography, one count of transportation of child pornography and one count of possession and access with intent to view child pornography involving prepubescent minors, according to federal court documents.

Setzer, represented in court by federal public defender Steven George Slawinski, filed a memorandum asking for leniency in sentencing and a hand-wri

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