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Sam Penrod ReportingAn Orem man was sentenced to federal prison today for his role in an international child pornography ring.
The man admitted he used explicit photos of his own foster daughter along with hidden camera photos of other children taken in a dressing room.
Federal Judge Paul Cassell sentenced Joseph Durborow to ten years in prison this afternoon for transmitting child pornography over the Internet.
The allegations against Joseph Durborow came as a shock last year. He was a photographer in Orem, known especially for his work in taking glamour shots of children. But since his arrest, part of a US Customs Service sting known as "Operation Hamlet" was especially disturbing, since the participants in the child pornography ring, from the United States and Europe used their own children. The ring was busted and dozens of people were arrested.
Durborow pleaded guilty earlier this year as part of a plea agreement and admitted to using hidden cameras in his studio's dressing room, capturing photos of young children as they changed their clothes. Durborow then sold or traded the explicit images.
In court a soft-spoken Durborow read a statement to the judge, saying “I express sorrow to the people I have hurt and deceived. I realize I have done terrible things; I don't have any excuses. I am prepared to pay my debt to society.”
Judge Paul Cassell handed down a 121-month sentence in prison and will ask that Durborow be enrolled in a sex offender program.
Joseph Durborow also faces state charges related to child sex abuse. That case has still not gone to trial.
