Jonathan Dillard, 49, of Kuna, Idaho, has been sentenced to 87 months in prison for possession of child pornography. U.S. District Judge Stanley A. Bastian handed down the sentence, which will be followed by lifetime supervised release.
Dillard pleaded guilty on February 23, 2016, to accessing a Yahoo chat group to view images of child pornography in November and December of 2013. Investigators with the Idaho Attorney General’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children Unit executed a search warrant at Dillard’s residence in January 2014, seizing computers and electronic storage devices.
According to the plea agreement, Dillard admitted to possessing 57 images of child pornography and 13 videos containing child pornography on his laptop computer, a flash drive, and two DVDs. This is not Dillard’s first conviction for possession of child pornography, having previously been convicted in U.S. District Court in 2003.
As part of his plea, Dillard agreed to forfeit a Dell Inspiron laptop computer, a USB flash drive, and DVDs used in the commission of the charged offense. As a result of his conviction, Dillard will be required to register as a sex offender.
The case was investigated by the Idaho Attorney General’s Office’s Internet Crime Against Children (ICAC) Unit, with assistance from the Ada County Sheriff’s Office. The ICAC Unit is a coalition of state and local law enforcement agencies that works with the ICAC Task Force to investigate and prosecute individuals who use the internet to criminally exploit children.
The case 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. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources”.
Dillard’s sentence serves as a reminder of the severity of child pornography crimes and the importance of law enforcement efforts to combat them. The investigation and prosecution of these crimes are crucial to protecting children and holding offenders accountable.
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Key Facts
- State: Idaho
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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