Idaho Falls Man Sentenced to Seven Years for Accessing with Intent to View Child Pornography

POCATELLO –  Thomas Wayne Anderson, 57, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, was sentenced yesterday in United States District Court to 84 months in federal prison, to be followed by eight years of supervised release, for accessing with intent to view child pornography, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Anderson to pay $1,340.75 in restitution and to forfeit the laptop computer Anderson used to commit his crime.  Anderson pleaded guilty to the charge on August 24, 2017.

According to the plea agreement, Anderson had been apprehended in connection with a series of acts of vandalism at recreational sites managed by the Bureau of Land Management when authorities obtained a search warrant and searched Anderson’s laptop computer.  Law enforcement found screen captures of child pornography that appeared to be from videos depicting child pornography.  When interviewed, Anderson admitted to using online video-conferencing services to view child pornography with other individuals. 

The case was investigated by the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and the Bureau of Land Management.

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.”