Kuna Man Sentenced for Possession of Child Pornography

BOISE –  Jonathan Dillard, 49, of Kuna, Idaho was sentenced today for possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.  U.S. District Judge Stanley A. Bastian sentenced Dillard to 87 months in prison followed by lifetime supervised release.  Dillard pleaded guilty on February 23, 2016.

According to the plea agreement, Dillard admitted accessing a Yahoo chat group to access and view images of child pornography in November and December of 2013.  In January of 2014, investigators with the Idaho Attorney General's Office Internet Crimes Against Children Unit executed a search warrant at Dillard's residence in Kuna, Idaho and seized computers and electronic storage devices.  In his plea agreement, Dillard admitted possessing 57 images of child pornography, and 13 videos containing child pornography, on his laptop computer, a flash drive, and two DVDs.  Dillard also admitted that he had previously been convicted of possession of child pornography in U.S. District Court in 2003. 

As part of his plea, Dillard also agreed to forfeit a Dell Inspiron laptop computer, a USB flash drive, and DVDs used in the commission of the charged offense.  As a result of his conviction, Dillard will be required to register as a sex offender.

The case was investigated by the Idaho Attorney General's Office's Internet Crime Against Children (ICAC) Unit, with assistance from the Ada County Sheriff's Office.  The ICAC Unit is a coalition of state and local law enforcement agencies that works with the ICAC Task Force to investigate and prosecute individuals who use the internet to criminally exploit children.

The 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.”