Kevin Kirkland, aged 52, from Emmett, has been sentenced to 78 months in federal prison for the possession of child sexual abuse material, as announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Justin Whatcott. The sentence marks the culmination of an investigation by the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, triggered by CyberTip reports from a cloud storage company. These tips, submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), indicated that numerous files of child sexual abuse material had been uploaded to an account linked to Kirkland. Further evidence was discovered on Kirkland's cellphone following a federal search warrant.
U.S. District Judge Amanda K. Brailsford not only imposed the prison sentence but also ordered Kirkland to serve 15 years of supervised release after his time in prison. Additionally, he has been required to pay $24,000 in restitution to the victims depicted in the images and will have to register as a sex offender.
Attorney General Raúl Labrador expressed appreciation for the efforts of the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit and their collaboration with federal partners. He emphasized their commitment to holding those who exploit children accountable under the law, stating, “Their tireless work ensures that those who exploit children are brought to justice. Each successful prosecution reaffirms our commitment to protecting Idaho’s most vulnerable and holding offenders fully accountable under the law.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Whatcott recognized the teamwork of the Idaho ICAC Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Emmett Police Department, crediting them for their roles in the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kassandra McGrady led the prosecution.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a national effort started by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to address child sexual exploitation and abuse. The initiative involves cooperation between federal, state, and local resources to address these crimes. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, interested parties can visit www.justice.gov/psc.
