By Heidi Ganahl | Rocky Mountain Voice
Mitchell Clute, 57, a former senior producer and editor at Sounds True, has agreed to a plea deal, according to various media reports, on charges of possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material.
He was arrested in July, following an investigation by the Boulder County Digital Forensics Lab, which discovered child sexual abuse material downloaded from an IP address associated with Clute’s residence on Dewey Avenue.
Initially facing 11 felony charges, including sexual exploitation of a child, Clute accepted a very lenient plea deal last week, pleading guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of a child, both class 4 felonies. The remaining charges were dismissed as part of the agreement.
The sentencing, on March 8, saw Clute receive only 60 days of work release and six years of sex offender intensive supervised probation. Additionally, he will be required to register as a sex offender. Despite arguments from Deputy District Attorney Taylor Suta for a punitive sanction of 90 days and six years of probation, Clute’s defense attorney, Benjamin Greenberg, attributed his client’s actions to addiction, advocating for a more lenient approach.
During the hearing, Clute expressed remorse for his actions, citing anxiety and depression as contributing factors. However, Boulder District Judge Nancy Salomone rebuked Clute’s attempt to minimize the severity of his crimes, emphasizing the lasting impact on the victims, but still approved the incredibly lenient plea bargain.
The case has sent shockwaves through the Boulder community, especially given Clute’s previous role as a respected figure at Sounds True, a prominent multimedia publishing company. During his 22-year tenure, Clute worked on projects involving well-known spiritual leaders such as Pema Chodron, Wim Hof, Judith Orloff, and Eckhart Tolle.
The harm to children caused by these predators has been a hot topic in Colorado recently. A Democratic-controlled House committee recently rejected legislation aimed at strengthening Colorado’s laws on child sexual exploitation. House Bill 1092, which would have mandated minimum sentences for those who buy children for sexual exploitation, failed to advance in the House State, Civic, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee. Despite overwhelming support from advocates, the bill was opposed on an 8-3 party-line vote.
The decision has led supporters to vow to continue efforts in the future to pass the bill. More than 50 witnesses, many of them survivors of child exploitation, testified in favor of the bill. However, the committee’s decision underscores the challenges in enacting tougher penalties for such crimes.