Gerald Lee Farrell, Jr., Child Sexual Exploitation, Idaho 2014

BOISE, Idaho – Gerald Lee Farrell, Jr., 46, formerly of Eagle, Idaho, pleaded guilty today to one count of interstate travel with a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and one count of possessing sexually explicit images of minors, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.

Farrell entered his plea in front of visiting Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge A. Wallace Tashima, who was hearing the case by designation. The charges carry a minimum of five years and a maximum of thirty years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to lifetime supervised release. The charge of possession of sexually explicit images of minors is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to lifetime supervised release.

Farrell was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boise in September 2004. A superseding indictment was returned in October 2004. Farrell had been a fugitive since January 2004. He was arrested in Spain in July 2013 and extradited to the United States in December 2013.

According to the plea agreement, Farrell and his wife became a host family for a 16-year-old German female exchange student in August 2003. The plea agreement further states that throughout the fall of 2003, the defendant sought various opportunities to observe the girl nude or partially nude and that he engaged her in conversations of a sexual nature. In December 2003, Farrell took the girl to Nevada. One night, she woke up to find the defendant lying across her stomach and trying to remove her panties. The girl was able to push the defendant away.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Ada County Sheriff’s Office. U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson commended the persistence of FBI Special Agent Mary Martin and the now-retired Ada County Sheriff’s Office detectives who worked long hours over many years to bring Mr. Farrell to justice.

Sentencing is set for May 27, 2014, before the Honorable Dee V. Benson, U.S. District Judge for the District of Utah, at the federal courthouse in Boise.

The defendant’s real full name is Gerald Lee Farrell, Jr. The exact criminal charges are interstate travel with a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and possessing sexually explicit images of minors. The city and state are Boise, Idaho. The exact date of the crime is August 2003 to December 2003. The sentence or outcome is pending sentencing on May 27, 2014. The dollar amount is $250,000.

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