Caldwell Man Sentenced For Possessing Obscene Visual Representations Of The Sexual Abuse Of Minors

BOISE — U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced today that Patrick S. Baker, 50, of Caldwell, Idaho, was sentenced today in United States District Court to 12 months and one day in prison. Baker pleaded guilty on November 21, 2013, to possessing obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children. U.S. District Judge William Fremming Nielsen, from the Eastern District of Washington, also ordered Baker to be on supervised release for three years after his release from prison, and to participate in sex offender treatment. Baker was also ordered to forfeit the laptop computer used in the offense.

According to the plea agreement, officers from the Nampa Police Department responded to the Hilton Inn in Nampa, Idaho, on March 14, 2013, in response to a request from hotel management to remove a guest who had overstayed the contracted time. Officers discovered Baker in the room. He had checked in the previous night and used the hotel’s wireless Internet service to download hundreds of images of child erotica and at least 36 realistic-looking digitally created images depicting prepubescent minors engaged in various sexual acts with adults, according to the plea agreement. Investigators also found several images of minor females, most approximately ages 3 to 12 years, in various kinds of dress, posing in ways to bring attention to their genital or pubic area. Baker admitted that he had downloaded the images and that he had a long-standing addiction to pornography, including adults and children.

The case was investigated by the Nampa Police Department, an affiliate of the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC). The ICAC is 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 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.”