Saying society was losing a "good husband, good father and a gifted doctor and teacher," a federal judge on Monday sentenced a former University of Utah radiology professor to just over five years in federal prison for downloading hundreds of images of child pornography onto his work computer.
As friends, family and medical colleagues looked on, William Zwiebel, 63, said he has come to realize that what he did was not a victimless crime. "I am shamed to think that I have been a perpetrator in a business that may have done serious harm to children," Zwiebel said in court.
His attorney, Mary Corporon, pointed out that her client has already taken steps to learn from his mistake, having already attended therapy for about a year now. Corporon said her client had already been "severely punished" by separation from his wife and children, plus the loss of a prestigious career.
Several of Zwiebel's medical colleagues said his prison sentence would be a great loss to the Utah medical community.
Zwiebel's wife said she was horrified by her husband's offense but added she has seen his "return to moral life." The doctor's two teenage sons said he was a "wonderful father."
U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball called it an "unfortunate case" but added that Zwiebel's sentence could have been much worse had the doctor attempted to "reach out" and find sexual contact with a minor over the Internet.
Zwiebel was charged in August 2006 after employees with the U.'s information technology department discovered what they believed to be child pornography on Zwiebel's computer. At the time, Zwiebel was a radiology professor at the U. School of Medicine and chief of the imaging services unit at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Zwiebel was placed on administrative leave and later resigned in September of last year.
Federal prosecutors sought a sentencing enhancement after they found some of the images of child pornography contained "sadistic and masochistic" behavior toward children.
Attorneys in the case indicated they had reached an agreement in which prosecutors would agree to a low end of the federal sentencing guidelines but keep the enhancement, resulting in a sentence of 63 months.
Kimball sentenced Zwiebel to 63 months, plus 10 years supervised release afterward. Kimball recommended that Zwiebel be placed in a low-security federal facility close to Utah. Under federal law, Zwiebel must register as a sex offender.
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