Nampa Man Pleads Guilty to Access with Intent to View Child Pornography

BOISE –  Troy A. Paul, 48, of Nampa pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to access with intent to view child pornography, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.   

According to the plea agreement, agents with the Department of Homeland Security learned that an electronic device at Paul’s residence viewed images of child pornography on a Russian photo-sharing website several times between January and June of 2014.  Further investigation revealed that a device at Paul’s residence received an e-mail in March of 2014 which contained images of child pornography.  In February of 2015, agents with the Department of Homeland Security interviewed Paul, where he admitted viewing child pornography on the Russian photo-sharing website, and receiving images of child pornography in his e-mail account.  Paul admitted viewing images of child pornography in his e-mail account approximately 100 times, using an iPhone assigned to him by his employer.  In March of 2015, agents with the Department of Homeland Security served a search warrant for the contents of Paul’s e-mail account, and discovered e-mails containing images of child pornography. 

Sentencing is set for November 9, 2016, before Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge.

Access with intent to view child pornography is punishable by up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than five years and up to life. 

The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the FBI and Ada County Sheriff’s Office, and 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.”