do the courts sentence these men because of what they did or because of what we fear they contemplate doing?

If convicted of receiving child porn, my husband faces a mandatory minimum of five years in federal prison. This article discusses the increase in severity of sentences for this crime.

The average federal prison sentence for individuals who possess, receive or share child pornography jumped to roughly seven years in fiscal 2006 from about three years in 1994, according to Justice Department data. In federal cases, the mandatory minimum for downloading images is five years in prison without parole. Defendants who download particularly lewd images, possess a large number of images or share some of them with others often get sentences of 15 or even 20 years.