A retired Chinese engineer was sent to prison Monday for four to 15 years for downloading child pornography even though he steadfastly maintains his innocence and brought dozens of supporters to court Monday.
Weiwu Zhao, 76, of Easton, was convicted at trial earlier this year of downloading 14 videos of child pornography in 2014.
Zhao and his supporters told Northampton County Judge Jennifer Sletvold that he didn't understand the case against him because he doesn't speak English, that he was framed and that he needed more time to prepare before he was sentenced.
He went through three lawyers before deciding to represent himself at trial, claiming the three previous attorneys pressured him to take a plea deal.
Prior to the hearing, his daughter handed out leaflets at the Northampton County Courthouse urging bystanders to support an "innocent senior." She brought about 30 supporters, including Bethlehem NAACP Chapter President Esther Lee.
Lee said she has seen young black men wrongly convicted of crimes due to their difficulties with language and felt the judge should postpone the sentencing to allow Zhao's new attorney, Sandra Thompson, to familiarize herself with the case.
Sletvold, however, debunked each of Zhao's arguments. She said Zhao has been provided a Chinese interpreter for all of his legal proceedings. She said at least one of the downloaded videos was labeled in Chinese. State police experts said the videos couldn't have wound up on Zhao's computer by accident as he claimed, the judge said.
"You are not innocent and you are not a victim," the judge told Zhao.
Rather than admit to his conduct, he forced jurors to watch video after video of men molesting girls to form the basis of his conviction, Sletvold said. Those images will never leave the jurors, the judge said.
"Those videos are vile. They are haunting," she said.
Witness after witness described Zhao as a kind, gentle grandfather.
"He was handed a raw deal," said James Kain, his Easton neighbor.
"I want to tell everybody here my father is a good man," said his daughter, Qing Zhao.
Sletvold called Zhao a difficult man who refused to follow directions that didn't suit him. He was ordered to stay away from children while on bail, for instance, but brought one with him among his supporters during his trial, the judge said.
74-year-old from Easton had child porn, state police say
The suspect was jailed in lieu of $50,000 bail, according to court records.
"He has no remorse for the crime or his victims," said Assistant District Attorney Laura Majewski. "He has blamed the cable company. He has blamed investigators. He has blamed my office. He has blamed everyone else but himself."
Zhao was convicted of two counts of sexual abuse of children and single counts of criminal use of a communication facility and receiving obscene materials.
He must report his address to authorities for 25 years after he is paroled under Pennsylvania's version of Megan's Law. That likely won't be an issue, though, since he is subject to deportation to China when he is paroled.
