BABY RAPIST BLAMES NET PORN

His experimentation with Internet porn got away from him - that's why Kenneth Rodger Hardy set on a course which ended with him pleading guilty Monday to the rape of a 15-month-old girl he was babysitting, his attorney says.

"That's the root of the problem," attorney Lee Rasmussen tells the Deseret News. He says Hardy began experimenting with Net porn and then began stockpiling porn on videotapes and computer disks, not to mention videotaping himself performing sex acts with the tot. It was when his son-in-law discovered some of the tapes that the case broke open, the News says.

Hardy has pleaded guilty to rape of a child, sodomy of a child, and aggravated sexual abuse of a child - all first-degree felonies. He appeared in court Monday to sign a plea agreement. The videotape on which the case ultimately hung was said to be filmed some time between August and October.

The baby's mother turned the tape in to Grantsville police after Hardy's son-in-law showed it to her, the News says.

Hardy still faces federal charges of sexual exploitation of children and possession of child porn. He faces 17 years to life as a result of his guilty plea, and he could be hit with 15-25 years if convicted on the federal charges as well. And his minimum time under the plea agreement could increase because of how young the victim was.

Rasmussen, a former FBI agent, says Hardy can't explain why he sexually abused the tot or videotaped it. "He has a lot of remorse," Rasmussen tells the News. "It…is an egregious case, and he realizes that."

Hardy's bail has been revoked on grounds that he is a threat to the community. The News says the tot hasn't shown signs of trauma from the incident, but the girl's parents have been traumatized.