Former Belgian actor Guy Van Sande was handed a three years conditional prison sentence for possessing, distributing and producing child pornography, a Flemish court in Veurne ruled Friday according to reports.
The 56-year-old was on trial for downloading over 500 photos and 70 videos of child pornography from 2012 and 2016, according to De Standaard.
The discovery of his involvement in the child pornography case led Van Sande to resign from his position as city councillor with the Nieuw Vlaamse Alliantie (N-VA) in the town of Edegem, a position he was elected to in 2006.
The court's ruling comes after Van Sande's trial, which was set to being in May, was postponed to June 12 due to a lack of judges.
Van Sande's lawyer —who admitted to being "disgusted" by the videos the former TV star owned— said his client's drug addiction played a role.
The court on Friday handed Van Sande a three years conditional sentence. He was ordered not to come into contact with minors for the next five years and was banned from taking drugs or abusing alcohol.
The court further withdrew his civil rights for five years and ordered him to make compensatory payments, including one of €6,000 to a minor whom he photographed.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times