By Pamela Manson
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune
A registered sex offender who videotaped his wife performing sex acts on her two young sons and then distributed the images over the Internet was sentenced Tuesday to almost 22 years in prison.
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In imposing the 262-month term on the Logan man, U.S. District Judge Paul Cassell called the offense one of the most serious he has confronted because of the effect on the boys, who were both under age 7 at the time.
Prosecutor Paul Amann agreed.
"In a lot of ways, this is worse than homicide," he said. "These two victims are left to deal with the aftermath."
The 47-year-old defendant, who is the boys' stepfather, was previously convicted in 1997 of sexual abuse of a child, according to the Utah Sex Offender Registry. The Salt Lake Tribune is not naming the man and the boys' mother to protect the privacy of the children, who now live with their biological father in Utah.
The mother was sentenced in March to about 12 years behind bars by Cassell, who cited the woman's repeated abuse of the children. Her attorney said the mother did not instigate the abuse but was under the control of her husband.
The crimes occurred in 2003, from January to September, while the family lived in Tremonton. At the mother's sentencing, the children's father said the boys told him the abuse was almost daily. He also said the youngsters were having trouble adjusting to normal life and fear lightning because it reminds them of the flash of having pictures taken during the abuse.
An investigation in Miami on the distribution of child pornography led authorities to the Utah couple last year, according to the FBI.
pmanson@sltrib.com