Taiwanese television host Mickey Huang has been handed more charges related to pornographic material of minors as he appeared in court on Aug 12.
According to news reports from Taiwan, prosecutors charged the 52-year-old for possessing obscene material of another 41 minors, including one allegedly as young as 11, in addition to the seven sex videos of underage girls that were previously discovered on his hard disk.
Huang, who faced a media scrum as he entered and exited the court on Aug 12 for the second hearing of his case in a closed proceeding, declined to comment on the new developments.
Once a prolific television presenter who hosted major events such as the Golden Horse Awards in 2015, Huang fell from grace when he became embroiled in Taiwan’s #MeToo movement in June 2023. He was accused by two female netizens of sexual harassment which took place about 10 years ago.
A criminal investigation into him was opened and Huang was indicted for violating Taiwan’s Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act in May after raids on his residence and studio uncovered many pornographic videos.
They included seven sexually explicit videos involving minors, which he purchased online between 2017 and 2023.
He was also found to have been a member of the online forum Chuangyi Sifang, which circulates illegal pornographic material, since 2014.
Huang initially confessed to his crimes in April and agreed to pay a NT$1.2mil (RM164,371.20) fine within six months. He also took to social media to apologise for his mistakes.
But in July, at the first hearing of his case, he rescinded his earlier confession.
According to Taiwanese news reports, he claims that the videos found in his possession were downloaded prior to the amendment of the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act in both 2023 and 2024, and thus he should not be charged under the renewed act.
Amendments to the act stipulate harsher punishments for those found in possession of child pornography or sexually explicit images and videos of minors.
While Huang was also accused of sexual harassment and molest, he was not charged on those claims due to a lack of evidence.
In April, he was also accused of rape by another woman online known only as Ms K.
She alleged that when she was 17 in 2006, Huang told her he was holding a photography exhibition and invited her to his house to take photos of her in swimwear. She was allegedly sexually assaulted while he was taking photos of her.
Since the first allegations against him, public sentiment has soured on Huang, who is married to Taiwanese actress Summer Meng and has a two-year-old daughter with her.
He has not actively worked in entertainment since 2023 and even his alma mater, Shih Hsin University, has dropped him from its list of outstanding alumni. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
