Faking his death and running from arrest are probably worth doubling his sentence from 2.5 years to 5 years, rather than increasing it 3400% to 85 years.
It's a 20 year sentence if it goes to trial. The estimated 2-5 year sentence, or no jail time at all, would only be if he hadn't fled and a plea bargain was accepted. It's very possible the judge would have still sentenced him to 20 years had he turned himself in.
With that being said, they brought the maximum amount of charges they could, and it's likely because he faked his death and fled justice.
Here are the charges that resulted in the 85 years- one count of child exploitation, four counts of touching a child for lustful purposes, and nine counts of sexual battery.
If he had plead guilty, he may have only faced one count of each and some of the charges may have been dropped altogether in exchange for the guilty plea.
It's a 20 year sentence if it goes to trial. The estimated 2-5 year sentence, or no jail time at all, would only be if he hadn't fled and a plea bargain was accepted. It's very possible the judge would have still sentenced him to 20 years had he turned himself in.
With that being said, they brought the maximum amount of charges they could, and it's likely because he faked his death and fled justice.
Here are the charges that resulted in the 85 years- one count of child exploitation, four counts of touching a child for lustful purposes, and nine counts of sexual battery.
If he had plead guilty, he may have only faced one count of each and some of the charges may have been dropped altogether in exchange for the guilty plea.