Citing attorney's missteps, federal judge reduces convicted child pornographer's sentence

The evidence showed that Sean Penoncello committed a litany of heinous crimes. He videotaped his sexual assaults of children, then shared them on the internet. He secretly installed cameras at a motel pool dressing room and recorded women and girls as they changed.

The 45-year-old St. Louis County man had little chance at trial. Yet Penoncello pleaded not guilty, requiring his victims to testify at a federal trial in Minneapolis. After a jury convicted Penoncello in 2016, Judge Patrick Schiltz sentenced him to about 33 years in prison, saying the crimes were some of the worst he had ever seen.

http://www.startribune.com/judge-throws-out-33-year-sentence-for-child-pornographer/505684212/