Pocatello Man Pleads Guilty to Sexual Exploitation of Minor

POCATELLO –  Alfredo Padilla, 59, of Pocatello, Idaho, pleaded guilty yesterday to sexual exploitation of a minor child, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  Padilla was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pocatello on May 23, 2017.

According to the plea agreement, Padilla coerced an 11-year old girl to take pictures of her exposed breasts, then forced her to pose for additional pornographic pictures.  A forensic search of Padilla’s phone revealed 43 images relevant to the case, and images of Padilla were interspersed with images of the young girl.  When interviewed by police, Padilla admitted to taking the pictures.  In court, Padilla admitted to taking pornographic photographs of the child and to using, persuading, or coercing the child to take part in sexually explicit conduct for the purposes of producing the photographs. 

A charge of sexual exploitation of a minor child is punishable by a prison sentence of 15 to 30 years, a fine of up to $250,000, a term of supervised release of five years, up to life, and special assessment totaling $5,100.

The case was investigated by the Pocatello Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

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.”