Richard Eric Webb, owner of Zylatech.

The Cedar Springs business owner who was arrested last fall on child exploitation charges has pleaded to the charges and is now serving his sentence.

Richard Webb, 45, of Nelson Township, was arrested in September 2016, after the Michigan State Police (MSP) Computer Crimes Unit, Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force conducted a search warrant at his home, and found him to be in possession of and distributing child sexually abusive material.

Webb was charged with one count of distributing child sexually abusive material, and one count of using a computer to commit a crime. He pled guilty to those charges, and was sentenced to one year in jail, five years probation, and 200 hours of community service. He also has to pay $1,326 in court-related costs: $136 to the state, $130 crime victim, $60 DNA, $600 attorney fees, and $400 in court costs. He is serving his time in the Kent County jail.

Webb is the owner/operator of Zylatech, an IT business based in Cedar Springs. The business provided service to the greater Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo areas.

According to D/Sgt. Chris Prevette, clients of Zylatech shouldn’t have anything to worry about regarding their own computers. “We don’t have anything showing that he co-mingled his personal files with business files,” he said.