BOISE - Travis L. Spradlin, 37, of Boise pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to receipt of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.
According to the plea agreement, in September of 2015, agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) received information that an individual using a Yahoo account from a residence in Boise had sent and received images of child pornography via e-mail and had accessed a Russian photo-sharing website to obtain child pornography. HSI agents served a search warrant at the residence where Spradlin lived. They seized a cell phone, a computer, and an external hard drive, all belonging to Spradlin.
A certified forensic examiner with HSI examined the electronic devices, and discovered over 6,000 images and 200 videos containing child pornography. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) subsequently identified 1,759 images and 70 videos as containing identifiable victims of sexual abuse, including victims from at least 150 known series of child pornography. The images included prepubescent minors and depictions of sadistic and masochistic conduct.
The examination of Spradlin’s cell phone also revealed evidence that he had communicated with at least two minor females from other states, and requested sexually explicit images from them. Agents discovered Spradlin received 274 images and 29 videos from one of the minors that depicted the minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Sentencing is set for April 13, 2017, before visiting U.S. District Judge Dee V. Benson from the District of Utah.
Receipt of child pornography is punishable by not less than 5 years imprisonment and up to 20 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than five years and up to life, and a $5,100 special assessment.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. 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."
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
