COEUR D'ALENE – John Patrick McClaren, 46, of Hayden Lake, Idaho, was sentenced today to 96 months in prison for distributing child pornography that is an adapted or modified depiction of an identifiable minor, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered McClaren to serve 15 years of supervised release following his prison term. He pleaded guilty to the charge on February 29, 2012.

According to court documents, on December 10, 2009, a Shoshone County deputy, who is a member of the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), developed information that an Internet Protocol (IP) address registered to a Hayden Lake residence was involved in the distribution of child pornography using peer-to-peer software. Following an investigation, McClaren was found to be living at the residence. On January 27, 2010, ICAC members served a federal search warrant at McClaren's residence and seized a laptop computer and two hard-drives. McClaren was present during the search and agreed to speak to ICAC investigators. During the interview, he admitted that he had been downloading child pornography for several months using peer-to-peer software and the Internet.

A forensic examination by the Federal Bureau of Investigation found that the two harddrives removed from McClaren’s laptop computer contained at least 160 images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. One image was later identified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to be that of a minor from New Hampshire. McClaren forfeited the computer and hard drives used in the offense.

“It is a priority of this office, and our law enforcement partners to target and prosecute anyone who collects or distributes child pornography,” said Olson. “We are firmly committed to protecting children. This commitment includes advocating for lengthy prison sentences that reflect these horrendous criminal acts.”

The case was investigated by the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children North Idaho Working Group. The group is comprised of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies in North Idaho, including the Coeur d’Alene Police Department, Post Falls Police Department, Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office, Moscow Police Department, Bonner County Sheriff’s Office, Lewiston Police Department, Idaho Attorney General’s Office, Kootenai County Prosecutor’s Office, the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). For more information about the ICAC Task Force, visit www.icacidaho.org.

This 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. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. 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.”