COEUR D'ALENE – Samuel Ted Ussery, 50, of Athol, Idaho, pleaded guilty yesterday in United States District Court in Coeur d'Alene to transportation of an obscene matter, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.

According to the plea agreement, on July 12, 2010, an investigator with the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) developed information that a computer with an IP address belonging to Ussery was using “peer to peer” file sharing software to access child pornography. According to the plea agreement, the ICAC investigator connected to the computer's IP address and downloaded multiple images of child pornography. On September 9, 2010, a federal search warrant was conducted at Ussery's residence where ICAC investigators seized computer equipment. During an interview later that day, Ussery admitted that he had downloaded child pornography using the Internet and a peer to peer network and deleted the files from his computer. Forensic analysis of Ussery's computer found several obscene images containing child pornography, which had been deleted but were recovered.

The charge of transportation of an obscene matter over the Internet is punishable by up to five years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years supervised release.

Sentencing is set for March 26, 2012, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Coeur d'Alene.

The case was investigated by the Shoshone County Sheriff's Office, Coeur d'Alene Police Department, Kootenai County Sheriff's Office, Idaho Attorney General's Office, United States Secret Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The agencies are northern Idaho members of the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, a statewide coalition of local, state and federal law enforcement and prosecution agencies, focused on apprehending and prosecuting individuals who use the Internet to criminally exploit children. For more information about the Idaho ICAC Task Force and a list of all the participating agencies, visit www.icacidaho.org.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.