US Appeals Court Overturns No-Prison Sentence For Oakland County Man In Child Porn Case

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - An appeals court has overturned a Detroit federal judge's decision to spare an Oakland County man any prison time possession of thousands of child pornography images on his computers.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati ruled Wednesday that U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow twice gave unreasonably light sentences to Rufus Robinson of Pontiac and ordered another judge resentence him.

Robinson, now 48, pleaded guilty in 2009, admitting he purchased child pornography over the Internet. Prosecutors asked for at least six years in prison, but the judge put him on probation for five. U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow said Robinson was not a pedophile, and an expert's report found he was at low risk for child sexual abuse.

The appeals court, however, sent the case back to Tarnow, knocking the judge for a sentence that "does not reflect the seriousness of this offense," and noting some images showed children being tortured.

Tarnow lengthened Robinson's probation but again spared him prison beyond one day served. Tarnow calls prison inappropriate for a man struggling with mental health problems.

The appeals court says the second sentence also is unreasonably light and questions if Tarnow can "confront the gravity" of Robinson's conduct.

Robinson has apologized for his actions.

"I know they were wrong but I never knew just how bad it was until I received therapy," he said, Robinson said in court in August 2013. ". … I'm not calling myself a victim here. I know the victims were the children."

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