Caldwell man pleads guilty to possession of child pornography

BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) – A Caldwell man pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of child pornography.

According to court records, on May 5, 2020, a citizen witness reported that she observed child pornography on a cellphone belonging to Kenneth Rowe, 50, of Caldwell. The citizen witness turned the cellphone over to the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office and the investigation was referred to the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. ICAC obtained a federal search warrant to review the cellphone for evidence of the possession of child pornography and located over a thousand files of child pornography and evidence that Rowe was the owner of the cellphone. Law enforcement also located evidence that Rowe used an application on his cellphone to trade files of child pornography with other individuals. At the time of the investigation, Rowe was a registered sex offender who was on parole for a prior sex offense.

Sentencing is scheduled before Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye on February 15, 2022. Because Rowe has a prior conviction for a sexual offense, the crime of possession of child pornography is punishable by a mandatory minimum of ten years and up to 20 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine, not less than five years and up to lifetime of supervised release, and a $5,100 special assessment. As part of his plea agreement, Rowe agreed to forfeit the cellphone he used in the commission of the offense.

Acting U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez, Jr., of the District of Idaho made the announcement and commended the cooperative efforts of the Idaho ICAC Task Force and the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, which led to charges.