American Idol contestant Benjamin Glaze sentenced to 25 years in jail on child porn charges
A former American Idol contestant who kissed Katy Perry during his audition has been jailed for possessing child pornography.
Benjamin Glaze, 26, was arrested in October after police discovered more than 700 photos and videos containing child porn on his phone.
Glaze pleaded guilty to aggravated possession of child sexual abuse material and was sentenced to 25 years on September 15, Tulsa Police said.
After his arrest last year, Glaze was quickly released from Tulsa County Jail on a $50,000 bond, TMZ reported.
The former American Idol contestant went viral in 2016 after he was kissed by superstar Perry, who was a judge during Glaze's audition.
Though he didn't make it through to Hollywood, Glaze was shot into the spotlight for the controversial smooch.
Perry faced backlash for kissing the then-20-year-old, who had told the judges during his audition that he had 'never been in a relationship' and he couldn't 'kiss a girl without being in a relationship.'
The 13-time Grammy nominee transformed their chaste kiss on the cheek to a full-mouthed moment, which left Glaze gasping: 'Katy! You didn't!'
The former American Idol contestant went viral in 2016 after he was kissed by superstar Katy Perry, who was a judge during Benjamin Glaze's audition
Glaze, 26, was arrested in October after police discovered more than 700 photos and videos containing child porn on his phone
Glaze pleaded guilty to aggravated possession of child sexual abuse material and was sentenced to 25 years on September 15
Glaze defended the singer at the time, and wrote on Instagram: 'I do not think I was sexually harassed by Katy Perry. I was uncomfortable in a sense of how I have never been kissed before and was not expecting it.'
'My main goal is to reach people through the universal love of music and not cause strife or anger against anyone or about any situation!'
He previously told the New York Times that he was 'a tad uncomfortable' and had 'wanted to save it for my first relationship.'
'I wanted it to be special,' he added.
He even went as far as saying that if the I Kissed A Girl hitmaker had asked before it happened then he would have turned her down.
Glaze said: 'Would I have done it if she said, "Would you kiss me?" No, I would have said no.
'I know a lot of guys would be like, "Heck yeah!" But for me, I was raised in a conservative family and I was uncomfortable immediately. I wanted my first kiss to be special.'
Glaze was in his late teens when he auditioned for American Idol in October 2015 with a self-written song called Stadium.
Glaze defended the singer at the time, and wrote on Instagram: 'I do not think I was sexually harassed by Katy Perry. I was uncomfortable in a sense of how I have never been kissed before and was not expecting it'
Perry's co-judge, Luke Bryan, defended the singer for the kiss and told Larry Emdur on The Morning Show that 'it's unfortunate that stuff like that turns into a story that big. I watched an actual interview where the kid said that he was cool with everything.'
Bryan continued: 'I gotta back Katy on that. We (the judges) are going to get it right sometimes and wrong sometimes.
'We're in there critiquing people. They say something one day that not everyone is going to like. That's just what you signed up for.'
