Rupert Man Sentenced to 25 Years for Producing Child Pornography

POCATELLO – Erik Rodriguez, 25, of Rupert, Idaho, was sentenced yesterday in United States District Court to 300 months in prison for producing child pornography, followed by 15 years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Rodriguez to pay restitution for counseling costs of his victim. Rodriguez pleaded guilty to the charge on August 24, 2016.

According to the plea agreement, Homeland Security Investigations special agents downloaded a sexually exploitative video of a minor from an individual later identified as Rodriguez in April 2015. After a search of Rodriguez’s home revealed numerous computers and electronic devices being used to view and store child pornography, Rodriguez admitted to possessing and producing child pornography. Agents found approximately 133 images and 302 videos of child sexual abuse material on Rodriguez’s devices, in addition to the sexually explicit images Rodriguez produced of a girl under 10 years old.

The case was investigated by 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.”