Jerome Man Sentenced for Possession of Child Pornography

BOISE –  Patrick Lee Jewell, 34, of Jerome, Idaho was sentenced today in United States District Court to 63 months in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release, for possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.   Jewell pleaded guilty on April 7, 2016.

According to the plea agreement, Jewell admitted using his e-mail account to communicate with an individual on Craigslist regarding the exchange of images of child pornography in November and December of 2013.  In February of 2014, agents with the Department of Homeland Security executed search warrants at Jewell's residence in Jerome, Idaho, and for his e-mail accounts.  In his plea agreement, Jewell admitted possessing 61 images of child pornography in his e-mail account, and five images of child pornography on his iPhone. 

As part of his plea, Jewell also agreed to forfeit an iPhone and a Samsung laptop computer used in the commission of the charged offense.  As a result of his conviction, Jewell will be required to register as a sex offender.

The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, the Jerome County Sheriff's Office, and the Jerome Police Department, 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’ 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.”