Former American Idol finalist bags 70 years in jail for having child porn on his computer

26yr old Brandon Cox had the world at his feet when he made it to the final of American Idols in 2012. Fast forward 5 years later and he's thrown it all away.

In January, a jury found him guilty on seven counts of possession of child pornography and he was slapped with the maximum penalty of 70 years in jail.

275 indecent images of children were discovered on his computer but Cox who has a four year old son protested his innocence throughout the trial and at the sentencing.

District Attorney Randall Houston said:

 'It’s very rare for us to deal with child porn cases where the images depict such young victims. Usually it may be young girls, 14 to 15, which is bad, don’t get me wrong. But he had photos and videos of toddlers, 4- or 5-year-olds. 'There were even photos of an infant engaged in sexual acts.'

He went on to describe Cox as 'sick.'

Cox was already under investigation when he entered and earned a spot on the final round of 'Idol,' with his files drawing he attention of investigators in 2011. It is unclear if producers of the show were aware of this at that time. 

Assistant District Attorney Kristy Peoples said:

 'We are talking about toddlers, sexual penetration, oral sex, and the horrific nature of these photos and the quantity of the photos.' Cox plans to appeal his conviction.