Taiwanese TV host Mickey Huang was sentenced on Tuesday (Dec 3) by the Taipei District Court to eight months in jail and a fine of NT$100,000 (US$3,070) for possession of thousands of explicit images involving at least 35 minors.
He was charged under Taiwan’s Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act. The fine can be converted into community service.
The district court said in a statement that the jail term and fine were imposed because the 52-year-old Huang possessed a large number of sexually explicit images, showed no remorse for his actions and had failed to reach settlements with the victims.
The victims were aged between 10 and 17 and attending elementary or high school when the images were taken. Their personal information was revealed as the images showed their faces.
Huang was not at the court hearing. His lawyer will discuss the possibility of appeal with him.
Huang was embroiled in Taiwan’s #MeToo movement in June 2023. Two female netizens accused him of sexual harassment that took place about 10 years ago.
A criminal investigation was conducted and Huang was indicted in May after raids on his home and studio uncovered pornographic videos. During the raid, prosecutors discovered pornographic content on his hard disk – including obscene materials involving seven minors as young as 11 years old.
It was then reported that, in 2014, Huang joined an online forum that shared child sexual abuse images and had purchased content from said site.
Huang had previously challenged his charges, saying that the videos were obtained before amendments to the Child And Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act, which imposed harsher penalties on offenders.
Huang is married to Taiwanese actress Summer Meng and they have a daughter.
