90 Day Fiancé star Michael Eloshway has filed an appeal to have his 10-year prison sentence lowered. The former reality TV star was convicted in October 2024, after being found guilty of two felony charges of possessing explicit videos of children. However, just a few weeks after his sentencing, Eloshway and his legal team want the appeal court to review the jury verdict.
As reported by Cleveland.com, Eloshway admitted to downloading the explicit videos on his computer but claimed that it was an accident. During his hearing, Eloshway confessed that he was consuming adult pornography to deal with his anxiety. He added that he had deleted any videos that would be considered illegal. “I hate that I became a part of this. It breaks my heart,” added the reality star while swearing that he never intended to see the explicit videos.
However, the prosecutors refused to believe his claims of being a casual observer. Following the conviction, Eloshway’s wife and mother wrote letters to the court to request a lenient sentence. In the letters obtained by In Touch Weekly, Eloshway’s wife, Aziza Eloshway writes: “I have known Michael for 12 years and can assure you that this conviction is not a reflection of his true character.” On the other hand. his mom, Kerry Eloshway claimed that her son’s extreme depression is what led to his pornography addiction.
Michael Eloshway Will Have to Register as a Sex Offender After Serving Time
As of now, Eloshway’s decade-long sentence will be followed by 10 more years of strict post-prison supervision. As part of his sentence, Eloshway will have to register as a sex offender and have his computer activity closely monitored. Authorities began investigating the 90 Day Fiancé star in 2022 after 65,000 child pornography files were downloaded and shared from his IP Address. The investigation then revealed over 7,000 illegal images and videos stored on a computer in his garage.
U.S. District Judge Patricia Gaughan, who presided over the case, described Eloshway’s crimes as “vile and heinous.” As part of the investigation, Eloshway had to take a polygraph test where he denied any intent to harm real children. Because he passed the test, the judge decided to impose a lower sentence, compared to the federal guideline range of 17.5 to 20 years.
However, during the hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer King claimed that Eloshway deserved a longer sentence. She revealed that the former reality star had used the peer-to-peer file-sharing network BitTorrent to download and distribute the explicit content. In her exact words: “From Mr. Eloshway’s garage, his mancave, he was able to receive and distribute, to spread the abuse of children.” As of now, no decision has been issued regarding Eloshway’s appeal.
All seasons of 90 Day Fiancé are available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.
Using a unique 90 Day Fiance visa, overseas fiances will travel to the US to live with their partners for the first time. Each couple will have just 90 days to decide to get married or send their international mate home.
- Release Date
- January 12, 2014
- Cast
- Natalie Podiakova , Mike Youngquist , Azan Tefou , Yara Zaya , Jovi Dufren
- Main Genre
- Reality
- Seasons
- 10
