Erik Rodriguez, Child Pornography Production, ID 2023

Erik Rodriguez, 25, of Rupert, Idaho, is going away for a long time. Yesterday, he was sentenced to 300 months in federal prison for producing child pornography — a crime that involved the sexual exploitation of a child under the age of 10. U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson confirmed the sentence, handed down by Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill in Pocatello. Rodriguez will also face 15 years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term and has been ordered to pay restitution for the victim’s counseling costs.

The crime began to unravel in April 2015, when Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents downloaded a sexually explicit video of a minor from an online source later tied directly to Rodriguez. The digital trail led investigators to his home in Rupert, where a search uncovered a digital arsenal: multiple computers and electronic devices used to view, store, and produce child sexual abuse material. What they found was stomach-turning — approximately 133 images and 302 videos depicting the sexual abuse of children.

But it wasn’t just possession. Rodriguez admitted to producing the material himself. Among the horrors recovered from his devices were sexually explicit images he created of a girl under 10 years old. The footage wasn’t just consumed — it was manufactured, adding a horrifying layer of premeditation and cruelty. His guilty plea, entered on August 24, 2016, brought a measure of closure to a case that exposed the darkest corners of online predation.

The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), whose agents specialize in tracking down digital predators who exploit the most vulnerable. Their work dismantled a hidden network of abuse, rooted in one man’s home but with reach across the internet. Rodriguez’s devices were not just storage — they were tools of victimization, each file representing a moment of real-world trauma.

This case was prosecuted under Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the explosion of child sexual exploitation. Spearheaded by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, the program unites federal, state, and local forces to hunt down offenders and rescue victims. The goal is simple: no safe space for predators, online or off.

Rodriguez now joins the ranks of those locked away for violating the innocence of children. His 25-year sentence reflects the severity of his crimes — a punishment meant not only to deliver justice but to serve as a warning. For more information on Project Safe Childhood and internet safety resources, visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.

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