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Press Release

Boise Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child Pornography

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Idaho

BOISE – James Maxheimer, 46, of Boise, pleaded guilty yesterday in United States District Court to possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  As part of his plea, Maxheimer also agreed to forfeit the computer and electronic storage devices used in the commission of the charged offense.

 

According to the plea agreement, in June of 2016, detectives with the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force served a search warrant on Maxheimer’s residence in Boise, Idaho, based upon evidence that ICAC detectives had downloaded images of child pornography from a computer at the residence, using a file sharing program.  Detectives interviewed Maxheimer, and he admitted that he had downloaded and viewed images of child pornography at least once a week, using the file sharing program. 

 

Detectives seized a laptop computer and an external hard drive belonging to Maxheimer.  When detectives examined the devices, they discovered 10,172 still images and 378 videos containing child pornography, including images of prepubescent minors, images showing sadistic and masochistic conduct with minors, and images of the sexual abuse or exploitation of infants and toddlers.

 

Sentencing is set for April 9, 2018, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill.  

 

Possession of child pornography is punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than five years and up to life, and a $5,000 special assessment.

 

The case was investigated by the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, and 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’ Office, the Office of the Attorney General for the State of Idaho, and the Department of Justice, 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.”

Contact

Barbara Layman
Public Information Officer
(208) 334-1211
barbara.layman@usdoj.gov

Updated January 9, 2018

Topic
Project Safe Childhood
Component