My son was charged with a class E felony for downloading child pornography what is the sentence does he need a paid lawyer

Of course he needs a lawyer. He may be able to have a public defender appointed to represent him, but if he can afford it, he should retain private counsel. Look for criminal attorneys in the area.

Defending child pornography cases can be very tricky, and can require not only the lawyer's time but also the work of various experts. This can be very time-consuming, which means expensive, if you're using a paid lawyer. There are lots of issues to deal with -- was your son the one who downloaded it for real, did he know he was downloading it, did the cops have a search warrant, can the video be suppressed, is there more evidence (there usually are lots of images in these cases, not just one). Did your son make any statements, under what circumstances, and can they be suppressed. Experts are often needed to deal with critical issues like whether the image truly pornographic, does it depict an actual person, and was that person actually a minor child at the time. And expert witnesses are not cheap. A public defender may or may not be able to do a good job here, I don't know. It depends on who gets assigned to the case, and whether they have the skills to handle this particular kind of case, and whether they have the resources to challenge the evidence effectively. A private attorney also may or may not be able to do a good job, depending on their experience and skills. Whichever way you go, however, your son clearly should have a lawyer representing him. Child porn cases are serious, and can be very challenging to defend. This is not legal advice, and does not create or imply an attorney-client relationship.