Michael Skupin 2016: 'Survivor' Contestant Serving At Least One Year In Prison [VIDEO]
Survivor contestant Michael Skupin has officially been sentenced to at least one year in prison.
Skupin said he was "deeply sorry" in Michigan's Oakland County court Tuesday, where he received a sentence of 1-4 years in prison for possessing child pornography, according to The Associated Press. He still denied downloading the photos to his laptop, but was found guilty, and will be eligible for parole after one year in prison.
The investigation into Skupin began when victims of his Pay It Forward scheme came forward to reveal they hadn't been paid. Authorities then discovered the child pornography hidden on his laptop. The Survivor contestant was ordered to pay $31,800 to the victims of his scheme.
"This has been the longest, hardest, and most arduous 10 months of my entire life. Nothing compares to it," Skupin said in a statement to People last month. "Family and friends have both shown up in a big way or have left my life completely. I have witnessed a level of love I never thought possible - and also a level of judgement and abandonment that I never knew existed."
Skupin was a contestant on the second season of Survivor, which took place in the Australian Outback. He fell into his tribe's campfire and had to be medically evacuated from the game in that season's sixth episode, and has become one of the most memorable castaways of all time due to his horrifying exit.
Skupin would return 11 years later to play in Survivor: Philippines, the reality show's 25th season. He found better luck with this season despite getting a few injuries along the way, ultimately finishing as co-runner-up with The Facts of Life star Lisa Whelchel.
Of course, this isn't the first Survivor contestant to have a run-in with the law. Original Survivor winner Richard Hatch went to prison for tax evasion shortly after winning in 2000.