In the end, Judge Tanya Walton Pratt gave him 27 years for producing child pornography and another 20 years for distributing it — a sentence closer to prosecutors’ request than Taylor’s. The sentences will be served concurrently rather than consecutively.
Prosecutors said Taylor secretly exploited and recorded a dozen children between the ages of 9 and 16, including even family members, and shared them with Fogle.
Investigators also found that Taylor and Fogle would travel the country to promote healthy living to school children while seeking out strippers and prostitutes.
Taylor claimed that low self esteem and family instability led him to a highly sexualized lifestyle. He also said he was in a “psychologically abusive relationship” with Fogle and told the court that he had “fallen asleep in a puddle of tears every night” since he was arrested.
Fogle was sentenced last month to more than 15 years in federal prison for his part in the scandal.