Mike Davis released from prison after 4 years

LORAIN COUNTY, Ohio — Former 10TV meteorologist Mike Davis was released from prison Saturday.

Davis served four years in prison after pleading guilty to four counts of disseminating sexual material involving a minor. He initially faced between 25 and 29.5 years, but was sentenced to a minimum term of four years.

Members of the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force received a tip in the summer of 2019 from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding activity on Davis' email account.

Authorities said Davis downloaded and emailed child sexual abuse images over a period of about seven years.

He was fired from 10TV after his arrest in September 2019. He had worked for the channel for over three decades.

At the sentencing hearing, Davis apologized to his friends and family and said there was “no excuse” for his compulsive collection of nearly 16,000 images depicting sexual abuse of children.

Davis' attorney had requested that his client be sent to a therapy program rather than prison. In court filings, defense attorney Terry Sherman argued that Davis used pornography in an attempt to self-medicate after suffering for years from various mental health issues, including severe depression and anxiety.

“These are victims who were manipulated and abused for years into participating in these acts,” Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Karen Held Phipps said in imposing Davis' sentence. “You have chosen to support an industry that has repeatedly revictimized these children for years. »

Davis will be required to register as a Tier II sex offender for 25 years.

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