‘Sick’! Former American Idol Contestant To Rot In Prison As Child Sex Offender
April 14 2017, Published 11:15 p.m. ET
A former American Idol contestant will spend the next 70 years idling in prison for charges related to child pornography, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Brandon Cox, 26, of Wetumpka, Alabama, received the maximum sentence possible after a jury in January found him guilty on seven counts of possession of child pornography.
Prosecutors asked for, and were given the maximum amount of time because of the truly graphic and disturbing images of young kids Cox had on his computer.
“We are talking about toddlers, sexual penetration, oral sex, and the horrific nature of these photos and the quantity of the photos,” Assistant District Attorney Kristy Peoples told WSFA. “I think that is why the judge did impose the sentence we asked for.”
The one-time reality star, who in 2012 made it to the Hollywood round on American Idol, had insisted he did not know what was on his computer because he had only used it to download music.
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But officials said the shocking pictures they saw revealed a “sick” individual.
“It’s very rare for us to deal with child porn cases where the images depict such young victims,” District Attorney Randall Houston told the Montgomery Advisor. “Usually it may be young girls, 14 to 15, which is bad, don’t get me wrong.
But he had photos and videos of toddlers, 4- or 5-year-olds. There were even photos of an infant engaged in sexual acts.”
Cox, who has a 4-year-old son, reportedly was already under investigation when he entered and earned a spot on the final round of Idol, but it’s not clear if producers knew this at the time.
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