Idaho Falls man sentenced for viewing child pornography
An Idaho Falls man was sentenced to 7 years in prison, followed by 8 years of supervised release for accessing with intent to view, child pornography.
Thomas Wayne Anderson, 57, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill Monday in U.S. District Court in Pocatello. Winmill also ordered Anderson to pay $1,340.75 in restitution and to forfeit the laptop computer he used to commit his crime.
Anderson pleaded guilty to the charge on August 24, 2017.
According to his plea agreement, Anderson said he had been apprehended in connection with a series of acts of vandalism at recreational sites managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Authorities obtained a search warrant during the investigation and searched Anderson’s laptop computer.
Law officers found screen captures of child pornography that appeared to be from videos depicting child pornography. Anderson admitted to using online video-conferencing services to view child pornography with other individuals.
The case was investigated by the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and the Bureau of Land Management. ICAC is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.
