Taipei: The Taiwan High Prosecutors Office has officially appealed the verdict given to former television host Mickey Huang, who was previously sentenced to one year and six months in prison for purchasing child sexual abuse material. The sentence was initially suspended for four years.
According to Focus Taiwan, the prosecutors argued that Huang’s actions had a detrimental impact on the physical and mental well-being of children and teenagers. They contended that the decision to grant a suspended sentence was based on flawed legal rationale, as it considered Huang’s settlements with victims and compensatory payments.
Huang’s conviction was delivered by the Taiwan High Court on November 25. He was found guilty of acquiring 2,341 explicit videos and images featuring 37 minors, ranging from 10 to 17 years old. The charges were based on violations of the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act and the Personal Data Protection Act. The court decided to apply the harsher penalties associated with the latter act.
Despite the severity of the charges, the court noted Huang’s lack of prior criminal history and his settlements with victims. This led to the decision to suspend his prison sentence, with additional conditions that included completing 180 hours of community service and attending three legal education sessions.
