POCATELLO – Joseph Lavern Harris, 32, of Rigby, Idaho, was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court to 300 months in prison, for sexual exploitation of a minor child, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill ordered that Harris serve a lifetime of supervised release, following his prison sentence.  Harris pleaded guilty on March 26, 2019.

According to court records, on February 26, 2018, state investigators responded to allegations of child abuse at a residence in Jefferson County, Idaho, where Harris resided.  A subsequent investigation discovered that Harris had produced child pornography by sexually abusing a four-year-old child.  Investigators obtained a search warrant for Harris’s electronic devices and discovered images of the sexual abuse taken on his phone.  In court, Harris admitted that he created the images.

At sentencing, Judge Winmill also ordered Harris to forfeit the cell phone used in the commission of the offense.  As a result of his conviction, Harris will be required to register as a sex offender.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations in Idaho Falls and the Jefferson County Sherriff’s Office.

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.  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 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.”

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POCATELLO – Elizabeth Dawn Evans, 28, of Rigby, Idaho, was sentenced last Friday in U.S. District Court to 15 years in prison for possessing sexually explicit images of minors, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill ordered that Evans be placed on supervised release for ten years following her prison sentence.  Evans pleaded guilty on March 6, 2019.

According to court records, on February 26, 2018, state investigators responded to allegations of child abuse at a residence in Jefferson County, Idaho, where Evans resided.  A subsequent investigation discovered that Evans’ boyfriend had produced child pornography using a minor child.  Investigators obtained a search warrant for Evans’ electronic devices and discovered images of the sexual abuse taken on her phone.  In court, Evans admitted that she took and possessed the images.

At sentencing, Judge Winmill also ordered Evans to forfeit the cell phone used in the commission of the offense.  As a result of her conviction, Evans will be required to register as a sex offender.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations in Idaho Falls and the Jefferson County Sherriff’s Office.

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.”

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POCATELLO - Joseph Lavern Harris, 31, of Rigby, Idaho, pleaded guilty yesterday to sexual exploitation of a minor child, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  Harris was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pocatello on March 27, 2018.

According to court records, on February 26, 2018, state investigators responded to allegations of child abuse at a residence in Jefferson County, Idaho, where Harris resided.  A subsequent investigation discovered that Harris had produced child pornography using a minor child.  Investigators obtained a search warrant for Harris’s electronic devices and discovered images of the sexual abuse taken on Harris’s phone.  In court, Harris admitted that he used, persuaded, and coerced the minor child to take part in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of such conduct.

The charge of sexual exploitation of a minor is punishable by 15 to 30 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a term of supervised release of 5 years to life.

Sentencing is set for June 18, 2019, before U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations in Idaho Falls and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

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.”

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