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Press Release

Moscow Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Pornography Charge

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

COEUR D'ALENE -  James Dale Pressnall, 50, of Moscow, Idaho pleaded guilty yesterday to possession of sexually explicit images of minors, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.  Pressnall was indicted by a federal grand jury in Coeur d'Alene on November 17, 2015.

According to the plea agreement, between December 2013, and February 2014, a Department of Homeland Security agent downloaded thirty-five child pornography files from a computer located in Moscow, Idaho.  The computer was making the files available on a peer to peer network open to the general public.  An internet service provider complied with a subpoena and advised that the computer distributing these images was located at Pressnall’s residence in Moscow, Idaho.

In March 2014, the Department of Homeland Security and the Moscow Police Department executed a federal search warrant at Pressnall’s residence.  Pressnall was present during the search and admitted to using child pornography search terms to download child pornography over the internet.  Several computers and computer storage devices were seized and the child pornography was located.  The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children determined that Pressnall’s child pornography collection included images of minors from multiple states, including:  Washington, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, California, Michigan, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Florida, Vermont, Virginia, New York, and several foreign countries. 

The charge of possession of sexually explicit images of minors is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000.00, and up to lifetime supervised release.

Sentencing is set for September 7, 2016, before Chief United States District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Coeur d'Alene.

The case was investigated through the collaborative effort of the Department of Homeland Security, Moscow Police Department, and Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office.  These agencies participate in the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, 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.icactaskforce.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.”

Updated January 22, 2019

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Project Safe Childhood
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