BOISE – Richard Alan Stansell, 53, of Caldwell, was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison for possession child pornography, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today.
According to court records, in October 2021, the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force began investigating CyberTip reports from Google, Instagram, and Facebook. According to the reports, several online accounts had been used to upload child pornography. ICAC’s investigation revealed that the accounts belonged to Stansell. ICAC also learned that the Idaho State Police had an active investigation involving Stansell. As part of that investigation, Stansell had communicated online with two undercover detectives posing as 13-year-old females. During the online communications, Stansell engaged in sexually explicit conversation with the purported children and sent them pictures of his penis and other pornographic images.
ICAC obtained a federal search warrant to seize and search Stansell’s electronic devices. In May 2022, ICAC, and other members of law enforcement, executed the search warrant and seized Stansell’s cellphone. A forensic examination of the cellphone revealed numerous images and videos of child pornography and evidence that Stansell had traded files of child pornography with other individuals online. Investigators also located evidence that Stansell had been communicating with juveniles. During an interview, Stansell admitted to receiving, viewing, and distributing images of child pornography. Stansell also admitted to chatting online with underage girls and to receiving explicit images from them.
“The defendant’s illegal and harmful conduct in this case is deserving of the significant sentence imposed,” said U.S. Attorney Hurwit. “Other offenders tempted to produce, obtain, or share child pornography should know that they cannot hide. Our office and our law enforcement partners, including the ICAC Task Force, are laser-focused on prosecuting to the fullest extent anyone who would victimize children, and our collaborative efforts in these critical investigations are second to none.”
“I am proud of the work done by our office in cooperation with the U.S. Attorney, Idaho State Police, and the Caldwell Police Department. The ICAC unit has been instrumental in protecting children by putting offenders away. Furthermore, I want to thank the law enforcement professionals in the state and U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit for the diligent work that resulted in the conviction of Mr. Stansell,” Idaho Attorney General Labrador said.
U.S. District Judge Amanda Brailsford also sentenced Stansell to 16 years of supervised release, which will start upon completion of his prison sentence, and entered an order forfeiting the cellphone that was used to commit the offense. Stansell was ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution to the victims in the images that he possessed. Stansell will also be required to register as a sex offender as a result of the conviction and pay a $5,100 special assessment to the Court.
U.S. Attorney Hurwit commended the cooperative efforts of the ICAC Task Force, the Idaho Attorney General’s Office, the Idaho State Police, and the Caldwell Police Department, which led to the charges.
This case was 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.
