Sexton Guilty of Child Porn

Richard Roy Sexton, 73, of Twin Falls, Idaho, has pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography in United States District Court, according to U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson.

As part of his plea agreement, Sexton admitted to downloading images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct from the internet. He also gave permission for agents to seize and search his computer and an external hard drive, which contained the images.

In October 2015, Sexton visited a Verizon Wireless store in Twin Falls, seeking assistance with an electronic tablet. An employee of the store observed child pornography on the tablet and contacted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), who then provided the information to investigators.

Sexton’s electronic devices, including his computer, external hard drive, and tablet, contained at least 360 images and 40 videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The images included those of prepubescent minors, and the devices also contained evidence of Sexton searching for and accessing child pornography via the internet.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) identified 332 images containing known, identifiable victims from 34 known series of child pornography. Sexton’s sentencing is set for January 10, 2017, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill.

Possession of child pornography is punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than five years and up to life, and a $5,000 special assessment. As part of his plea, Sexton also agreed to forfeit the computer, external hard drive, and tablet used in the commission of the charged offense.

The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspectors Service and the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), and was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

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