Standing before an audience of supporters Wednesday, an Orem man apologized for — and accepted responsibility for his involvement in — an international child pornography ring that involved his own adopted daughter.
"I realize that the things I've done have been terrible things," Joseph Paul Durborow said. "I don't have any excuses."
The 42-year-old photographer added: "I wish to express again my deep sorrow for all who have suffered because of my actions, and I pray that God will heal them."
Moments later, U.S. District Judge Paul Cassell sentenced Durborow to 10 years in federal prison. Durborow pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of sexual exploitation of children and one count of conspiracy to sexually exploit children.
Defense attorney Wendy Lewis had asked Cassell to find that Durborow was a minor participant in the pornography ring known as "Operation Hamlet." The 10-month investigation led to indictments against 20 people: 10 Americans and 10 Europeans, who allegedly sexually molested and photographed their own children and swapped pictures over the Internet.
Durborow photographed his then 11- or 12-year-old adopted daughter, as well as several neighborhood children who came to his Orem studio for photo shoots. Prosecutors also say he secretly photographed young girls in a changing room at his home studio.
Lewis said Durborow stayed away from hard-core pictures and never engaged in sexual conduct with his victims. Additionally, she said, he stopped sharing photographs in 1999 after realizing the scope of the conspiracy. The ring was dismantled by U.S. Customs in August 2002.
Cassell declined to grant the 2-year reduction, noting that Durborow created and shared some of the "raw material" used in the pornography ring.
Durborow was also charged in California's federal court, though those charges were resolved in his Utah plea agreement. He still faces two first-degree felony counts of aggravated sex abuse of a child in Utah County, where prosecutors allege he sexually abused two minors through inappropriate touching and fondling.
At the time of his arrest, Durborow and his wife had adopted or had guardianship of 12 children, including 10 still living in their home. Durborow's wife, who has never been implicated in the criminal proceedings, still has custody of the children.
Cassell acknowledged Durborow's friends and family, including his wife and sister, in the audience Wednesday. The judge said it appears that Durborow has "a strong support system."
Cassell recommended Durborow serve his entire sentence at a federal prison in Butner, N.C., which has expanded mental health and sex offender treatment programs.
E-mail: awelling@desnews.com