FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, Ill. (KMOX) -  A former Metro East attorney learns that he’ll still have to spend 12 years in a federal penitentiary.

67-year-old Gary Peel of Glen Carbon had originally received the sentence of 144 months in 2007 after he was convicted of bankruptcy fraud, obstruction of justice and possession of child pornography.

But an appeals court later ruled that Peel, once a successful lawyer for the Lakin law firm of Wood River, had faced double jeopardy and ordered that either the bankruptcy fraud or obstruction charge be thrown out and his prison time recalculated.

During a sentencing hearing Monday, Peel was again sentenced to 12 years in prison — he received concurrent sentences of 120 months for each of two child porn counts and 24 months on bankruptcy fraud to be served consecutively.

“Those who possess child pornography, prey on the innocence of others, and use the legal system as a weapon for their own personal gain, are deserving of stiff sentences such as this,” said United States Attorney Stephen Wigginton.

Peel was convicted of attempting to blackmail his wife during divorce proceedings by threatening to release nude photos of her sister, who was 16 at the time they were taken in the 1970′s.

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