Charles Hoyt McConnell III, 22, was found guilty on 36 counts of child sex-related charges on Tuesday, including capital sexual battery and obscene material possession
A 22-year-old has been sentenced to three consecutive life sentences for repeatedly raping a three-year-old boy and sharing images of the abuse.
Charles Hoyt McConnell III, from Pensacola, Florida, was found guilty on 36 counts of child sex-related charges on Tuesday, including capital sexual battery and obscene material possession.
Add Circuit Judge John Miller made sure he will never see the other side of a prison cell again – handing down the three life sentences and an additional 495 years in prison.
Prosecutors said the man filmed and photographed the abuse of the child for about two months in 2016, until his wife found the child porn on his phone and went to police.
It’s not clear if the child who was abused was McConnell’s child.
The woman, whose name has not been released, testified during the one-day trial on Tuesday, telling jurors she recognized the boy and her husband in the photos and screenshots.
Prosecutors said the man filmed and photographed the abuse of the child for about two months in 2016, until his wife found the child porn on his phone and went to police. It’s not clear if the child who was abused was McConnell’s child, and the name of the boy and McConnell’s wife haven’t been publicly released
Two other men, Danny Ray Murphy (left) and Jonah Authement (right), are serving prison sentences for communicating with the man about the videos and photos
Speaking through tears, she said she recognized certain body parts and items such as a nightlight and pajamas that belonged to the boy. The toddler’s face wasn’t in any of the photos, according to KHOU.
She said she checked the phone around 2am on January 9 because it kept lighting up with notifications.
When she saw the photos and communications she immediately picked up the boy and, in the middle of the night, went to her mother’s house and called the police.
McConnell was arrested that morning.
Two other men, Danny Ray Murphy and Jonah Authement, are serving prison sentences for communicating with the man about the videos and photos.
McConnell admitted to raping the boy multiple times while speaking to Escombia County police.
He said he did it due to ‘past experiences’ he wouldn’t elaborate on. He said said the urge to sexually abuse the child was ‘like a switch,’ explaining that sometimes he thought about it constantly, and other times not at all.
McConnell says the toddler is the only child he has ever sexually assaulted. He also had multiple child pornography images and videos of other children downloaded on his phone.