KINGMAN, Ariz. – Disparate consequences between plea agreement and trial conviction outcomes have been detailed for a Lake Havasu City man facing 10 felony counts for possessing video materials depicting acts of child pornography and bestiality. Mohave County Superior Court Judge Megan McCoy presided over the Aug. 21 settlement conference for Adam Duren, 23.
Judge McCoy told Duren that a 70-year prison term would be his best-case scenario if convicted on all counts at trial, but that aggravation could push that to as many as 168 years in the Arizona Department of Corrections.
“I tend to think that some of these numbers don’t matter at a certain point because you’d be spending the rest of your life in prison,” McCoy said.
The court disclosed that a proposed plea deal resolution would dismiss the bestiality counts and other charges in exchange for his convictions on four counts reduced to attempted sexual exploitation of a minor. Terms would require McCoy to send Duren to prison for five to 10 years, followed by lifetime probation.
“It’s hard to choose a lower amount of prison that still seems like an enormous part of your life,” McCoy said. “You would still have your entire life ahead of you.”
Duren advised he’d like more time to speak with his attorney before he decides to take the plea or go to trial. His next hearing will be an Aug. 27 status conference.
