The crime associated with the 4.5 year sentence is not child abuse. The crime is sharing prohibited files. 4.5 years in a prison - a half decade - is an incre

The crime associated with the 4.5 year sentence is not child abuse. The crime is sharing prohibited files. 4.5 years in a prison - a half decade - is an incredibly harsh penalty for filesharing. And then there is the post incarceration collateral conditions (fail all background checks, hard banned from working in a large number of industries with vulnerable peoples, housing restrictions with likely being on a sex offenders registry, social media vigilantes to name just a few). This individual is unlikely to lead anything approaching a normal life ever again. They will suffer a massive economic penalty due to 5 years lost wages and loss of 80%+ employment opportunities. They will suffer material psychological harm from being in a prison for 4.5 years, especially as an identified target for other inmates. They, by virtue of their actions and their sentence duration, will lose virtually all of their social connections. This sentence, especially when combined with the other they will be receiving, is effectively a punishment for life. The result is this individual is unlikely to ever be a productive member of society ever again and is much more likely to reoffend. Even if they don't they will almost assuredly be a ward of the state due to the impact of the above. Mandatory minimums, long prison terms in sentencing guidelines and post incarceration collateral conditions make the underlying problem a lot worse not better.