Nampa man sentenced to 25 years for producing child pornography
BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) – A 48-year-old Nampa man was sentenced to 300 months in federal prison for sexual exploitation of a child, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced Wednesday.
Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill described Troy Groene as a sexual predator. Many of Groene’s victims appeared in court. Judge Winmill praised them as “heroes” and “brave young women” for their courage in coming forward and holding Groene accountable for his crimes.
According to court records, the investigation began when the Nampa Police Department (Nampa PD) received information that Groene had committed a sexual assault. During the course of that investigation, Nampa PD learned that Groene also had sexual contact with a 16-year-old female. Nampa PD obtained a state search warrant for Groene’s cellphone and cloud storage account and located explicit videos that Groene had produced of the 16-year-old victim. During a search of Groene’s cloud storage account, Nampa PD also located explicit videos that Groene had produced of a 17-year‑old female. During the investigation, two additional 17-year-old females disclosed that Groene had engaged them in sexual contact and produced explicit videos of them.
Judge Winmill also sentenced Groene to a lifetime of supervised release. As part of the plea agreement entered earlier in the case, Groene was ordered to forfeit a truck he used to meet with some of the victims and $660,787.84 in proceeds from the sale of his house where he had met with some of the victims. Groene alo was ordered to pay $200,000 in restitution to the victims and will be required to register as a sex offender as a result of the conviction
“I agree with the Court that the victims in this case are heroes,” U.S. Attorney Hurwit said. “As we observe Sexual Assault Awareness Month this month, we should recognize the importance of creating spaces where victims—like the brave young women in this case—feel safe to report any form of sexual abuse or sexual exploitation. And we must rededicate ourselves to supporting the victims of these reprehensible crimes.”
U.S. Attorney Hurwit commended the cooperative efforts of the Nampa Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which led to the charges in this case.
