Two Idaho Men Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material

BOISE – U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced the outcomes in two separate cases in which defendants were sentenced to 87 months and 78 months in federal prison, respectively, for possessing child sexual abuse material.

Aaron Jacob Balcom, 28, of Caldwell, was sentenced to 87 months in prison. According to court records, the investigation began when Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) received CyberTip reports from an online messaging platform. A CyberTip is a report submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (“NCMEC”). NCMEC gathers leads and tips regarding suspected online crimes against children and forwards them to the appropriate law enforcement agencies. Law enforcement determined that online accounts, later identified as belonging to Balcom, had been used to upload and distribute child sexual abuse material.

Law enforcement obtained search warrants for the contents of Balcom’s online accounts and located hundreds of files of child sexual abuse material, along with chat conversations where Balcom discussed his sexual interest in children. HSI subsequently executed a search warrant at Balcom’s Caldwell residence and seized his cellphone. HSI located additional files of child sexual abuse material on the cellphone.

Chief U.S. District David C. Nye also ordered Balcom to serve ten years of supervised release following his prison sentence and to pay $6,000 in restitution to the victims in the images that he possessed. Balcom will be required to register as a sex offender as a result of his conviction.

In a separate and unrelated case, Paul Vargas Jr., 34, of Payette, was sentenced to 78 months in prison for the same crime. According to court records, this investigation also began when HSI received a CyberTip involving Vargas’ online account, which had been used to upload and distribute child sexual abuse material. Pursuant to a search warrant, HSI seized Vargas’ cellphone and located evidence that the cellphone had previously been used to store child sexual abuse material.

Judge Nye ordered Vargas to be placed on supervised release for 15 years after the end of his prison term and to pay $6,000 in restitution to the victims in the images he possessed. Vargas will also be required to register as a sex offender as a result of his conviction. 

“The endless distribution of child sexual abuse material can impact victims for life,” said U.S. Attorney Davis. “We are deeply committed to seeking justice for the victims in these images and to holding offenders accountable for their egregious conduct. Our law enforcement partners share the same goal, and I am grateful for their hard work.”

“These two sentencings illustrate how a single cyber tip can result in investigative action to remove predators from our communities and protect children,” said HSI Seattle acting Special Agent in Charge April Miller. “HSI and our partners are relentless in our mission to combat the heinous crime of online child sexual exploitation and abuse. We encourage everyone to help protect children online by immediately reporting suspected crimes or potential victims so law enforcement can act.”

Both cases were investigated by HSI in Boise with assistance from the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The Payette Police Department and the Canyon County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office also assisted with the Vargas investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kassandra McGrady prosecuted these cases.

These cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. As part of Project Safe Childhood, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho and the Idaho Attorney General’s Office partner to marshal federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

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