The Taiwan High Court has ruled that former Taiwanese TV host Mickey Huang, who recently appealed his case of owning thousands of sexually explicit videos of minors, can avoid a year and a half jail term if he stays out of trouble for the next four years. Huang has reached a settlement with 37 underage victims in the videos.
00:00Disgrazed Taiwanese entertainer Miki Huang, most recently known for buying sexually explicit videos of girls aged 10 to 17 online, may be given a new chance at life.
00:13That's after an appeal ruling on Tuesday saw the former TV host handed a suspended sentence of one and a half years for data privacy violations.
00:22If Huang keeps a clean record for the next four years, he will not have to serve time.
00:26The judge said Huang showed remorse and had already compensated his victims.
00:52Huang's case was a bombshell for Taiwan's entertainment industry.
00:56Part of a wave of sexual misconduct allegations against public figures that became known as Taiwan's MeToo movement.
01:04He was accused last year of assaulting and coercing girls into taking nude photos.
01:09Prosecutors dropped that case due to lack of evidence.
01:12But during their investigation, they found videos at the center of the current case on his personal hard drive.
01:18Last December, a lower court sentenced Huang to eight months for sexual exploitation of minors.
01:24A decision that many criticized as too lenient.
01:28For Huang's victims, the appeal was a chance to see justice served.
01:32But the lawyer representing them says the most recent ruling shows cracks in Taiwan's criminal justice system.
01:38Huang is only guilty of consuming the videos, not of producing them.
02:04And all 11 people found guilty of running the online forum where the videos were sold have been given sentences ranging from 17 months to 12 years.
02:14The ruling on Tuesday can still be appealed.
02:17The victim's lawyer says the real goal is not to get a lengthy sentence,
02:22but to draw attention to the harm caused by child sexual abuse material and to stop its spread.
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